AT 

PRINCETON,   N.  J. 


X)  O  :V  J*.  T  I  o  x-     or.- 

SAMUEL   AGNEW, 

OF     PHILADELPHIA,    PA, 


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BR  121  .M328  1849 
Magoon,  Elias  Lyman. 
Republican  Christianity 


REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY 


OE, 


TRUE   LIBERTY, 


AS  EXHIBITED  IN  THE  LIFE,  PRECEPTS,  AND  EARLY 
DISCIPLES   OF 


THE     GREAT    REDEEMER 


E.  L.   MAGOON, 


AUTHOR    OF    "PROVERBS    FOR    THE    PEOPLE,"    "  LIVING    ORATORS    OF    AMERICA," 
"  ORATORS    OF    THE    AMERICAN    REVOLUTION." 


BOSTON: 
GOULD,    KENDALL,    AND    LINCOLN, 

59    WASHINGTON     STREET. 

1849. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1849,  by 
GOULD,   KENDALL,   AND   LINCOLN, 
In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  District  of  Massachusetts 


STEREOTYPED  AT  THE 
BOSTON  TYPE  AND  STEREOTYPE  FOUNDRY. 


TO      ALL 


WHO       HATE       TYRANNY, 


REVERE      HUMANITY,     BELIEVE      IN      PROGRESS 


AND      FOLLOW      CHRIST, 


THIS      WORK       IS       INSCRIBE  D 


PREFACE. 


The  author  of  the  following  work  avows  his  creed  in  a  brief 
formula,  as  follows  :  — 

First,  he  believes  in  Jesus  Christ. 

Second,  he  believes  in  no  one  else,  as  having  the  slightest 
authority  over  the  personal  freedom  and  religious  rights  of  mankind. 

Christ  came  into  the  world  to  redeem  it,  by  the  power  of  a  benefi- 
cent life  and  vicarious  death.  He  was  born  at  the  base  of  the 
pyramid  of  society,  where  the  masses  are  densest,  widest,  and  most 
oppressed ;  mingled  with  every  class ;  endured  every  wrong ;  miti- 
gated every  form  of  suffering;  sympathized  most  with  the  most 
abused  ;  denounced  political  and  spiritual  tyranny  in  the  strongest 
terms ;  and,  finally,  fell  a  victim,  mangled  by  that  malignant  pride 
and  power  which,  in  the  persons  of  high  priests,  crafty  scribes,  and 
official  Pharisees,  ever  stand  ready  to  inflame  the  popular  mind 
with  cruel  prejudice,  leading  the  multitudes  to  spare  a  robber  and 
murder  their  greatest  Benefactor,  so  that  oppression  may  yet  flourish, 
and  their  own  ungodly  immunities  remain  secure. 

In  the  first  part,  we  have  attempted  to  portray  the  human,  as  well 
as  the  divine  career  of  Christ.  Viewing  him  at  five  different  stages 
of  his  progressive  work,  we  see  how  he  lived  out  the  diversified 
1* 


6  PREFACE. 

experience  of  all  the  injured,  before  he  came  to  the  consummation 
of  his  mission,  and  that  this  preparatory  discipline  fully  qualified 
him  gloriously  to  accomplish  the  salvation  he  came  to  perform. 

In  the  second  part,  an  examination  is  entered  upon  touching  the 
character  of  the  primitive  church.  The  author  believes  that  Jesus 
Christ,  eighteen  centuries  ago,  gave  our  race  a  perfect  model  of 
republicanism ;  and  that  this  was  not  only  exemplified  in  his  life, 
and  confirmed  by  his  death  as  the  highest  gift  to  all  men,  but  that 
it  was  strikingly  imbodied  in  the  original  formation  of  the  Christian 
church.  The  analysis  of  the  argument  on  this  point,  as  well  as 
the  authorities  by  which  it  is  fortified,  are  before  the  reader,  and  he 
may  judge  with  respect  to  the  correctness  of  the  deduction.  It  will 
be  seen  that  the  author  nowhere  offers  a  direct  defence  of  the 
views  held  by  his  own  denomination,  but  presents  data  from 
standard  writers,  which  can  easily  be  verified.  If  any  persons  are 
dissatisfied  with  the  statements  adduced,  they  need  not  long  doubt 
with  whom  to  quarrel. 

In  the  third  part,  premises  laid  in  the  character  of  Christ,  and 
illustrated  in  the  constitution  of  the  primitive  church,  are  applied 
to  existing  evils,  showing  the  legitimate  influence  of  Christian 
doctrine.  The  author  is  aware  that  this  is  a  delicate  matter;  but 
he  would  hope  that  the  topics  involved  in  the  discussion  have  been 
handled  in  a  way  adapted  neither  to  exasperate  the  passionate 
unnecessarily,  nor  make  the  judicious  grieve.  With  prayerful 
solicitude,  and,  he  thinks,  true  conservatism,  he  has  written  under 
the  influence  of  no  sectarian  feeling  or  sectional  prejudice,  express- 
ing as  plainly  as  possible  what  he  sincerely  believes,  and  fawning 
for  no  favors.  Herein  are  thoughts  and  emotions  which  have 
haunted  the  author  for  years ;  and  they  are  now  sent  forth  to  stir 


PREFACE.  7 

in  other  bosoms,  and  thence  to  produce,  according  to  the  soil  of 
their  growth,  a  blessing  or  a  curse. 

There  are  many  young  men  in  our  country,  cultivating  the  earth, 
swinging  the  hammer,  or  driving  the  plane,  whose  superior  endow- 
ments and  hidden  aspirations  generate  in  their  aching  bosom  pur- 
poses most  honorable  to  human  nature,  but  which  true  merit  is  slow 
to  confess.  These  are  surrounded  by  the  mercenary  and  grovelling, 
who  are  as  indifferent  to  the  effulgence  and  utility  of  sanctified 
genius  as  they  are  to  the  glories  of  a  flower  crushed'  under  their 
miry  heel.  To  arm  such  young  brethren  with  fortitude,  foster  their 
beneficent  purposes,  and  share  their  sympathetic  regards,  has  been 
a  primary  purpose  with  the  author,  and  will  constitute  his  most 
genial  reward. 

We  live  in  Avhat  we  are  pleased  to  call  a  free  and  happy  land. 
As  we  here  enjoy  the  amplest  means,  and  are  urged  by  the  strongest 
motives,  it  is  certain  that  we  should  employ  the  wisest  and  most 
heroical  enterprise,  to  bless  every  section  and  rank  of  our  common 
country  and  the  world.  The  present  is  an  age  auspicious  for 
humanity,  inasmuch  as  good  books  are  every  where  multiplied, 
benevolent  institutions  are  springing  up  of  every  kind,  and  the 
divinest  enfranchisement  is  rapidly  embracing  all  our  race.  Tele- 
graphs, with  lightning  alacrity,  bring  the  remotest  regions  into 
near  neighborhood,  and  speak  almost  simultaneously  to  multifarious 
classes  and  states.  Commerce,  with  a  body  of  iron  and  soul  of 
flame,  darts  athwart  oceans,  the  mighty  auxiliary  of  the  cross,  and 
pledge  of  universal  brotherhood.  In  our  western  world,  innumer- 
able presses  multiply  intelligence  with  a  speed  and  profusion  truly 
sublime,  causing  all  the  intellects  of  antiquity  to  become  contemporary 
with  ourselves,  and  the  willing  agents  of  a  civilization  perpetually 


8  PREFACE. 

improved  and  indescribably  grand.  In  the  eastern  hemisphere,  the 
most  startling  developments  of  Providence  are  continually  tran- 
spiring". Napoleon  is  represented  as  saying,  "  When  I  am  dead, 
my  soul  will  return  to  France,  and  dwell  in  the  hearts  of  the 
French  people,  like  thunder  in  the  clouds  of  heaven,  and  throb  with 
ceaseless  life  in  new  revolutions."  In  an  infinitely  nobler  sense,  it 
would  seem  as  if  all  the  champions  of  outraged  humanity,  in  every 
epoch  and  nation,  were  becoming  incarnate  again,  or  exerting, 
through  occult  means,  a  redeeming  poAver  in  every  clime.  The 
masses  are  finding  their  hands,  feeling  their  powers,  and  asserting 
their  rights.  The  almightiness  of  the  great  Captain  of  our  salvation, 
the  rejected,  toil-worn,  lacerated,  murdered  Nazarene,  is  imbuing 
the  intellect  and  heart  of  man  —  of  all  mankind.  Let  bigots 
tremble,  and  let  tyrants  flee,  for  the  hour  of  their  doom  draws  near. 
Crumbling  thrones,  decaying  mitres,  obsolete  creeds,  and  shattered 
chains,  are  blown  aside  by  the  tempests  of  popular  indignation, 
giving  space  and  capacity  for  humanity  to  exercise  itself,  and  taste 
the  rapture  of  those  energies  which  heaven  bends  low  in  our 
day  to  emancipate,  and  which  hell  must  be  permitted  no  longer 
to  bind. 

E.  L.   M. 

Cincinnati,  April  1,  1849. 


CONTENTS. 


PART    I. 

THE  REPUBLICAN  CHARACTER  OF  JESUS  CHRIST. 


CHAPTER     I . 

The  Infancy  of  Christ, 15 

In  his  advent;  identified  with  the  lowly  condition  in  which  the  masses 
of  mankind  are  born. 

1.  His  coming  was  prepared  ; 

2.  The  place  of  his  appearance  was  appointed ;  and  was 

3.  The  type  of  all  redemption,  pledge  of  universal  freedom. 

CHAPTER    II. 

The  Youth  of  Christ, 31 

In  his  youth,   occupied  in  toil  such  as  the  great  majority  of  men 
pursue. 

1.  His  best  energies  were  developed  by  the  worst  trials  ; 

2.  His  finest  sympathies  became  the  source  of  most  rugged 
v         strength ;  and 

3.  His  earliest  aspirations  arose  to  emancipate  the  world. 

CHAPTER    III. 

The  Manhood  of  Christ, 48 

In  maturity,  trained  by  sufferings  such  as  mankind  in  general  are 
doomed  to  endure. 

1.  In  his  manhood  subjected  to  severe  social  oppression  ; 

2.  "Was  compelled  to  exercise  personal  self-reliance ;  and 

3.  Experienced  much  of  the  seductions  of  power. 


10  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER    IV. 
Christ  as  a  Preacher, 79 

In  his  public  life,  the  beneficent  champion  of  universal  rights. 

1.  He  addressed  a  common  nature  ; 

2.  Aroused  common  emotions  ;  and 

3.  Imparted  common  blessings. 

CHAPTER   V. 

The  Sacrifice  of  Christ, 106 

In  his  sacrifice,  the  divine  atoner  in  whom  all  are  invited  to  trust 
for  the  highest  freedom  and  immortal  joy. 

1.  He  died  for  the  wretched,  whose  sorrows  he  felt ; 

2.  Atoned  for  the  sinful,  whose  guilt  he  assumed  ;  and 

3.  Triumphed  alone  on  the  cross  in  gloom,  that  he  might  open 

the  gates  of  glory  to  all,  and  proffer  to  each  a  crown. 


PART   II. 

THE  REPUBLICAN  CONSTITUTION  OF  THE  PRIMITIVE 
CHURCH. 


CHAPTER   I. 
The  Church  -without  a  Kixg, 136 

1.  History  of  the  alliance  between  the  church  and  kings  ; 

2.  Nature  of  this  relationship ;  and 

3.  Its  practical  results. 

CHAPTER    II. 
The  Church  -without  a  Pope, 163 

1.  Popery  originated  in  degeneracy; 

2.  Flourished  most  in  the  darkest  times ;  and 

3.  Is  destined  to  disappear  before  increasing  light. 


CONTENTS.  11 


CHAPTER    III. 
The  Church  -without  a  Bishop, 196 

1.  Bishops  are  not  essential  to  constitute  a  church ; 

2.  Were  never  designed  to  exercise  lordship  over  equals  in 

Christ ;  and 

3.  Are  no  longer  needed  to  oppress  the  sacred  brotherhood. 


CHAPTER    IV. 
The  Church  without  a  Priest, 230 

1.  Priestcraft  is  the  product  of  every  age  ; 

2.  The  defender  of  every  bigoted  creed  ;  and 

3.  The  chief  foe  to  Christianity,  and  greatest  curse  to  mankind. 

CHAPTER    V. 

The  Church  -without  an  Aristocrat, 261 

1.  Aristocracy  was  the  first  foe  of  the  church  ; 

2.  Is  at  best  but  a  hypocritical  friend  ;  and 

3.  A  perpetual  impediment  as  well  as  consummate  disgrace. 


PART   III. 

THE  REPUBLICAN  INFLUENCE  OF  CHRISTIAN 
DOCTRINE. 


CHAPTER    1. 

Christianity  the  Solace  of  the  Obscure 291 

1.  Christianity  arose  in  the  deepest  gloom  ; 

2.  Is  designed  to  mitigate  the  keenest  pangs  ;  and 

3.  Pour  solace  upon  the  obscurest  children  of  mankind. 


12  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER    II. 

Christianity  the  Patron  of  the  Aspiring, 316 

1.  Christianity  was  proudly  contemned  when  most  pure  ; 

2.  Is  adapted  to  encourage  the  deserving  when  most  depressed ; 

and, 

3.  Patronizes  all  aspirations  that  are  both  free  and  grand. 

CHAPTER    III. 

Christianity  the  Fortifier  of  the  "Weak, 343 

1.  Christianity  was  fiercely  persecuted  when  most  feeble; 

2.  Sympathizes  with  the  suffering  when  most  wronged  ;  and 

3.  Fortifies  the  confiding  with  invincible  strength. 

CHAPTER    IV. 

Christianity  the  Deliverer  of  the  Oppressed, 367 

1.  Christianity  was  given  to  subdue  the  most  ungenerous  foes ; 

2.  Is  most  merciful  towards  those  who    suffer  the  greatest 

abuse ;  and 

3.  Inspires  ceaseless  rebellion  against  every  species  of  ungodly 

bonds. 


CHAPTER    V. 

Christianity  the  Rewarder  of  the  Sacrificed, 395 

1.  Christianity  has  ever  been  the  fairest  and  foremost  victim  of 

tyranny  ; 

2.  The  mightiest  antagonist  to  every  form  of  injustice  ;  and 

3.  Most  glorious  rewarder  of  all  devotees  for  her  sake  sacri- 

ficed. 


REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 


"  Know,  then,  that  when  I  say  the  religion  of  Protestants  is  in  prudence 
to  be  preferred  before  yours,  on  the  one  side,  I  do  not  understand  by  your 
religion  the  doctrine  of  Bellarmine  or  Baronius,  or  any  other  private  man 
amongst  you,  nor  the  doctrine  of  the  Sorbonne,  of  the  Jesuits,  or  of  the 
Dominicans,  or  of  any  other  particular  company  among  you,  but  that 
wherein  you  all  agree,  or  profess  to  agree,  the  doctrine  of  the  Council  of 
Trent,  so,  accordingly,  on  the  other  side,  by  the  religion  of  Protestants, 
I  do  not  understand  the  doctrine  of  Luther,  or  Calvin,  or  Melancthon,  nor 
the  Confession  of  Augsburg,  or  Geneva,  nor  the  Catechism  of  Heidelberg, 
nor  the  Articles  of  the  Church  of  England ;  no,  nor  the  harmony  of  Prot- 
estant Confessions ;  but  that  in  which  they  all  agree,  and  that  which  they 
all  subscribe  with  a  greater  harmony,  as  a  perfect  rule  of  faith  and  action ; 
that  is,  the  Bible.  The  Bible,  I  say,  the  Bible  only,  is  the  religion  of 
Protestants."  —  Chillingworth. 

"  It  was  from  Christianity  that  man  derived  the  spiritual  element  wherein 
he  could  once  again  become  self-sustaining,  free,  and  personally  invincible  ; 
a  new  vitality  awoke  in  the  bosom  of  the  freshened  earth,  and  she  became 
fructified  for  the  development  of  new  productions."  —  Ranke. 

"  Christianity,  which  has  declared  that  all  men  are  equal  in  the  sight 
of  God,  will  not  refuse  to  acknowledge  that  all  citizens  are  equal  in  the 
sight  of  the  law."  —  Be  Tocqueville. 

"  L'Evangile  est  democratique,  le  Christianisme  est  republicain  !  "  —  Les 
Conienticmnels. 

"  I  am  come  to  send  fire  on  the  earth;  and  what  will  I,  if  it  be  already 
kindled? " 

"One  is  your  Master,  even  Christ;  and  all  ye  are  brethren." — Jesus 
Christ. 


PART   I 


THE   REPUBLICAN   CHARACTER   OE 
JESUS    CHRIST. 


CHAPTER    I. 

THE    INFANCY    OF    CHRIST. 

IN    HIS  ADVENT,   IDENTIFIED  WITH    THE    LOWLY    CONDITION    IN    WHICH 
THE    MASSES    OF    MANKIND    ARE     BORN. 

The  ancient  economy  of  grace  was  closing;  the  era  of 
transition  to  a  better  dispensation  had  arrived.  Every  thing 
indicated  the  approach  of  a  radical  and  stupendous  change. 
The  concluding  words  of  ancient  prophecy  were  full  of  blended 
fear  and  hope.  The  language  of  Haggai  was  startling.  "  For 
thus  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts,  Yet  once,  it  is  a  little  while,  and 
I  will  shake  the  heavens,  and  the  earth,  and  the  sea,  and  the 
dry  land."  All  reliable  interpreters  consider  this  as  referring 
to  the  coming  of  the  great  Redeemer  of  mankind.  His  ap- 
proach was  prepared ;  the  place  of  his  appearance  on  earth 
was  appointed ;  and  his  advent  was  the  birth  of  salvation, 
the  type  of  all  redeeming  influence,  the  pledge  of  universal 
freedom. 

In  the  first  place,  the  coming  of  Messiah  was  prepared. 
Jehovah  declared  aforetime,  that  he  would  shake  the  mighty 
kingdoms  of  the  earth,  and  deprive  them  of  that  power  with 
which  they  withstood  the  progress  of  exalted  principles  among 


16 


REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 


men.  "And  I  will  shake  all  nations,  and  the  desire  of  all 
nations  shall  come."  This,  doubtless,  refers  to  the  great  politi- 
cal concussions  whereby  the  power  of  the  heathen  should  be 
broken,  their  pride  humbled,  and  they  should  thus  become 
qualified  to  receive  the  salvation  prepared  for  the  world. 
Hence  God  declares,  "  And  I  will  overthrow  the  thrones  of 
kingdoms  ;  and  I  will  destroy  the  strength  of  the  kingdoms  of 
the  heathen ;  and  I  will  overthrow  the  chariots,  and  those  that 
ride  in  them ;  and  the  horses  and  their  riders  shall  come  down, 
every  one  by  the  sword  of  his  brother." 

In  view  of  this  great  revolution  in  the  condition  and  pros- 
pects of  mankind,  Isaiah  had  long  before  declared,  "  Behold,  a 
virgin  shall  conceive  and  bear  a  son,  and  shall  call  his  name 
Immanuel."  The  fulfilment  of  this  gracious  promise  is  re- 
corded in  the  words,  which  the  angel  of  the  Lord  spake  unto 
Joseph.  "  Take  unto  thee  Mary  thy  wife ;  for  that  which  is 
conceived  in  her  is  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  And  she  shall  bring 
forth  a  son,  and  thou  shalt  call  his  name  Jesus  :  for  he  shall 
save  his  people  from  their  sins.  Now,  all  this  was  done,  that 
it  might  be  fulfilled  which  was  spoken  of  the  Lord  by  the 
prophet,  saying,  Behold  a  virgin  shall  be  with  child,  and  shall 
bring  forth  a  son?  and  they  shall  call  his  name  Immanuel ; 
which,  being  interpreted,  is,  God  with  us." 

It  is  interesting  to  observe  that  all  nations  known  in  history 
have  ever  expected  a  Liberator,  a  person  mysterious,  divine, 
and  one  who,  according  to  the  ancient  oracles,  should  bring 
them  salvation,  and  reconcile  them  with  the  Eternal.  Prideaux, 
in  his  work  on  the  Jews,  observes  that  "  the  necessity  of  a 
mediator  between  God  and  man  was  from  the  commencement 
a  prevailing  opinion  among  all  people."  In  proportion  as  the 
glorious  realization  approached,  an  extraordinary  light  diffused 
itself  over  the  world,  like  the  bright  beamings  of  Jacob's  star. 
Cicero  caught  some  of  its  beams,  and  in  his  Republic  an- 
nounced a  law  eternal  and  universal,  the  law  of  all  nations 
and  all  times ;  a  single  and  common  master,  who  should  be 
God  even,  and  whose  reign  was  about  to  commence.     Virgil, 


THE    INFANCY    OF    CHRIST.  17 

recalling  the  ancient  oracles,  celebrated  the  return  of  the  Vir- 
gin, the  birth  of  prevailing  order,  and  the  descent  of  the  Son 
of  God  from  heaven.  To  his  eye  a  grand  epoch  speedily- 
advanced  ;  all  the  vestiges  of  crime  were  effaced,  and  earth 
was  forever  delivered  from  fear.  The  divine  infant,  who  should 
i*eign  over  the  peaceful  world,  will  receive  for  first  presents 
the  simple  fruits  of  earth,  and  the  serpent  will  expire  near  his 
cradle.  The  universal  tradition,  moreover,  was,  that  this  celes- 
tial envoy  would  be  man  and  God  combined,  and  that  he  would 
come  to  achieve  the  salvation  of  the  world.  "  He  will  save 
us,"  said  Plato,  "by  teaching  us  the  true  doctrine,"  —  "  Shep- 
herd, prince,  universal  teacher,  and  sovereign  truth,"  said  Con- 
fucius, "  he  will  possess  all  power  in  heaven  and  upon  the 
earth."  This  lively  anticipation  of  a  mighty  liberator  and 
restorer,  vanquisher  of  demons  and  imbodiment  of  supreme 
good,  was  doubtless  permitted  to  prevent  the  nations  from 
falling  into  complete  ignorance  and  despair.  It  never  ceased 
to  prevail,  in  a  manner  more  or  less  distinct,  through  all  the 
pagan  world,  from  a  period  long  anterior  to  Moses  to  the 
auspicious  night  when  the  Magi,  guided  by  a  supernatural 
meteor,  came  from  the  East  seeking  the  Star  destined  to  ele- 
vate Israel  and  overthrow  idolatry.  Who  is  .this  Savior — the 
desire  of  all  nations  —  the  true  Messiah,  sent  of  God?  We 
have  but  one  response,  and  shall  never  need  another  —  Jesus 
Christ,  who  was  all  that  the  nations  expected  him  to  be,  all  that 
the  prophets  declared  he  would  be,  the  true  Son  of  God,  be- 
gotten from  eternity,  his  Wisdom  and  his  Word,  incarnate  and 
divine. 

Humanity  has  never  ceased  to  pour  forth  its  desires  and 
tears  at  the  foot  of  such  altars  as  could  be  found  ;  it  has  never 
ceased  to  adore  under  some  form ;  and  hence,  since  worship  is 
a  universal  instinct,  in  the  most  sacred  of  books  God  has 
entitled  himself  "  the  desire  of  all  nations."  But  at  the  time 
Jesus  of  Nazareth  was  born,  more  than  ever  before,  poor, 
degraded,  persecuted,  bleeding  humanity  laid  its  hands  upon 
its  mouth,  and  its  mouth  in  the  dust,  crying  for  a  deliverer  to 
2* 


18  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

appear.  Its  prayer  was  heard.  The  fulness  of  time  had  come, 
and  "the  Word  was  made  flesh,  and  dwelt  amongst  us."  The 
eternal  Son  of  God  deigned  to  take  our  nature  and  clothed 
himself  with  our  mortal  flesh.  He  united  in  himself  the  divine 
and  the  human  ;  and  these  two  natures  formed  but  one  person, 
Jesus  Christ,  the  God -man  who  was  the  expectation  of  all  the 
nations.  He  appeared  at  the  time  foretold,  "  and  we  have  seen 
his  glory,  the  glory  of  the  only  Son  of  the  Father,  full  of  grace 
and  truth."  His  incarnation  was  a  great  mystery  indeed,  but 
a  mystery  so  analogous  to  our  wants  and  so  conformable  to  the 
universal  reason  of  mankind,  that  it  has  been  perpetually  be- 
lieved ever  since  the  fall. 

But  what  end  did  the  divine  Word  propose  to  himself  in  his 
incarnation  ?  What  secret  designs  impelled  him  to  descend  so 
low,  and  unite  himself  to  our  nature  ?  "  He  came,"  says 
Paul,  "to  regenerate  all  things  in  the  heavens  and  upon  the 
earth."  His  mission  v/as  as  grand  as  it  was  benevolent.  It 
was  worthy  of  Him  by  whom  all  things  were  made  ;  and  who 
alone  was  able  to  renovate  —  regenerate  all.  Our  nature  had 
become  depraved,  and  it  was  the  prerogative  of  Christ,  by  his 
sacrifice,  precepts,  and  example,  to  create  us  anew  in  the  im- 
age of  the  Highest.  It  seemed  to  the  apostle  that  this  sublime 
work,  achieved  through  such  wonderful  means,  would  blaze 
with  ineffable  splendor,  not  only  in  the  world  which  we  inhabit, 
but  beyond  us  to  all  worlds,  even  to  the  most  exalted  height  of 
the  heavens.  It  was  necessary  that  the  Source  of  all  light,  by 
making  himself  man,  should  enter  the  night  in  which  humanity 
was  involved  in  order  to  disperse  it.  The  regeneration  of  our 
nature  is  the  image  of  its  primitive  creation  :  the  first  and  the 
second  are  equally  the  work  of  the  divine  Word.  "  For  by 
him  were  all  things  created  that  are  in  heaven,  and  that  are  in 
earth,  visible  and  invisible,  whether  they  be  thrones,  or  domin- 
ions, or  principalities,  or  powers:  all  things  were  created  by 
him  and  for  him."  He  renews  our  spirit  in  the  same  way  as 
he  formed  it,  by  the  communication  of  himself:  to  hear,  be- 
lieve, obey,  this  was  man's  first  act ;  he  was  born  by  the  throes 


THE    INFANCY    OF    CHRIST.  19 

of  faith,  and  the  word  which  originally  gave  to  him  life,  is  the 
same  which  reproduces  it. 

The  king  of  day  is  glorious  and  sublime  in  all  his  course, 
but  he  is  the  most  beautiful  as  he  comes  into  view  and  disap- 
pears. The  resemblance  which  this  bears  to  the  great  Sun  of 
Righteousness  is  manifest.  We  are  ever  to  remember  that  in 
Jesus  Christ  our  nature  was  intimately  united  with  Divinity  the 
most  exalted,  and  that  in  the  triumphant  Redeemer  humanity 
is  already  enthroned  in  heaven.  He  came  to  unfold  to  man- 
kind their  capacities  of  greatness,  to  impart  generous  concep- 
tions and  reveal  the  splendid  destiny  that  awaited  them,  to 
awaken  aspirations  after  a  nobler  character  and  a  higher  being, 
to  kindle  in  their  bosoms  a  love  for  all  the  virtues  imbodied  in 
himself,  and  throw  wide  open  before  them  the  gates  which 
invite  to  life  without  a  pang,  and  glory  without  a  cloud. 

This,  then,  is  the  truth  we  are  to  observe  at  the  outset  of  our 
discussion;  on  the  one  hand,  that  the  appearance  of  Christ 
had  been,  from  eternity,  predetermined  by  the  divine  will , 
and,  on  the  other,  that  this  determination  was  carried  into 
effect  precisely  at  the  period  when  all  was  made  ready  for  the 
purposes  of  his  mission.  But  Christ,  according  to  all  records, 
sacred  and  profane,  does  not  stand  isolated  in  universal  history, 
but  was  heralded  among  the  Jews  by  the  law  and  the  prophets, 
—  among  heathen  nations  by  symbols,  significant  myths,  and 
vivid  traditions  —  by  philosophy,  poetry,  and  art — by  the  very 
depravity  which  kept  alive  a  painful  consciousness  of  a  doom 
deserved,  and  which  awakened  the  deepest  longings  for  the 
appearance  of  one  mighty  to  save.  This  fore-appointment  of 
the  Messiah  from  all  eternity  is  especially  stated  by  the  apostle 
Paul ;  as  when,  for  instance,  he  asserts  that  God  chose  us  in 
Christ  before  the  foundation  of  the  world  ;  while  the  historical 
necessity  of  the  Redeemer's  appearance  at  a  particular  period 
is  announced  in  those  assertions  of  Scripture,  that  the  Son  of 
God  and  of  man  was  born  in  the  fulness  of  time ;  in  other 
words,  that  he  appeared  at  the  precise  moment  when  the  prep- 
arations for  his  advent  were  completed,  and  the  world  in  such 


20  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

a  state,  that  the  influence  of  his  mission,  however  much  op- 
posed, could  never  be  entirely  lost.  He  appeared  in  the 
period  prepared  —  at  exactly  the  right  time. 

Secondly,  the  birthplace  of  the  Redeemer  was  appointed, 
and  comported  well  with  the  character  of  his  mission.  It  re- 
sembled the  spiritual  character  and  the  temporal  condition  of 
the  great  masses  of  mankind.  Man  had  fallen  from  his  high 
estate  into  the  most  abject  condition ;  and,  in  order  to  redeem 
him,  it  was  necessary  for  the  great  Captain  of  Salvation  to  pass 
through  the  deserts  of  penury  and  the  tomb.  The  first  Adam 
had  desolated  Eden  with  sin  ;  the  second  Adam,  in  the  hum- 
blest home  of  misery,  will  open  the  fountains  of  life  for  all. 
"  As  in  Adam  all  die,  even  so  in  Christ  shall  all  be  made  alive." 
The  first  man  had  changed  every  zephyr  of  the  world's  garden 
into  destructive  tempests,  every  flower  into  thistles  and  venom- 
ous stings,  every  sweet  stream  into  bitterness  and  woe.  But 
He  who,  from  the  eternal  throne,  wings  the  thunders  with 
power,  stoops  to  the  manger,  and  lies  bound  in  swaddling 
clothes.  Celestial  purity  blends  with  and  springs  from  the 
least  corrupt  source  on  earth,  exemplifying  at  once  the  great- 
est marvel  in  physical  creation,  and  the  most  astonishing  move- 
ment of  heavenly  love.  In  the  first  instance,  the  divine  was 
destroyed  by  the  human  ;  in  the  second,  from  humanity  divin- 
ity is  produced,  pledged  to  heal  every  wound  sin  has  inflicted, 
and  spread  over  a  groaning  and  degraded  world  joy  and  glory 
again. 

It  is  worthy  of  especial  remark  that  the  circumstances  of 
poverty  and  desolation  which  characterized  the  advent  of 
Christ  were  the  same  that  attend  the  birth  of  the  great  masses 
of  mankind.  Doubtless  the  coming  of  the  Redeemer  was 
arranged  with  reference  to  this  fact.  "  He  who  was  rich  for 
our  sakes  became  poor,  that  we  through  his  poverty  might  be 
made  rich."  He  rendered  himself  in  the  greatest  possible 
degree  accessible  to  all ;  he  bore  the  deprivations  of  the  most 
obscure,  and,  from  his  very  birth,  accumulated  a  wealth  of 
experience  and  sympathy  with  the  outcast  and  suffering  of 


THE    INFANCY    OF    CHFtlST.  21 

every  degree,  so  as  to  be  able  to  enrich  every  child  of  poverty, 
and  mitigate  every  pang  of  woe.  In  every  age  and  clime 
there  has  been  many  a  Simeon  waiting  for  the  consolation  of 
Israel,  all  of  whom  felt  that  the  needed  Redeemer,  to  be  effi- 
cacious, must  be  weak  as  well  as  strong,  poor  as  well  as  in- 
finitely rich.  Plato  not  only  shows  that  in  his  day  a  divine 
instructor  was  desired,  but  he  strikingly  described  the  attributes 
he  would  need  to  bring  and  the  doom  he  would  meet.  "  He 
must  be  poor,  and  void  of  all  qualifications  but  those  of  virtue 
alone  ;  that  a  wicked  world  would  not  bear  his  instructions  and 
reproofs  ;  and  therefore,  within  three  or  four  years  after  he 
began  to  preach,  he  would  be  persecuted,  imprisoned,  scourged, 
and  at  last  be  put  to  death."  The  feebleness  and  penury  of 
Christ  would  give  him  ready  access  to  the  great  majority  of 
mankind,  while  his  omnipotence  and  infinite  stores  of  heavenly 
merit  would  qualify  him  to  atone  for  all  their  sins.  Blessed 
was  the  lowly  condition  of  the  infant  Redeemer,  and  auspicious 
were  the  mild  beamings  of  the  star  that  heralded  his  birth. 
Then  a  softness  began  to  spread  over  the  obdurate  heart  of 
man ;  the  curtains  of  mystery  began  to  fall,  and  immortal 
glory  rose  on  the  enraptured  view. 

Lamartine,  in  visiting  the  spot  appointed  to  be  the  scene 
where  the  advent  of  Messiah  should  transpire,  gave  utterance 
to  his  feelings  in  the  following  words:  — 

"  It  appeared  to  me,  on  ascending  the  last  hills  which  sep- 
arated me  from  Nazareth,  as  if,  from  the  summit  of  the  moun- 
tains of  Galilee,  I  were  about  to  contemplate  at  its  source  that 
all-comprehensive  and  fruitful  religion  which  for  nearly  two 
thousand  years  has  established  and  is  establishing  itself  in  the 
universe,  and  which  has  refreshed  so  many  generations  by  its 
clear  and  vivifying  waters.  Here  was  the  source  in  the  hollow 
of  the  rock,  which  I  here  tread  under  my  feet,  and  the  hill  of 
which  I  have  ascended  the  last  heights,  has  borne  on  its  sides 
the  salvation,  the  life  of  the  light,  the  hope  of  the  world.  It 
was  here,  a  few  paces  from  me,  that  He,  the  model  of  man,  was 
born  amongst  men,  to  withdraw  them  by  his  word  and  his 


22  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

example  from  the  sea  of  error  and  corruption  in  which  the 
human  race  had  been  for  some  time  immerged.  If  I  reflected 
on  these  important  subjects  in  the  character  of  a  philosopher, 
it  was  the  period  at  which  took  place  the  greatest  event  which 
ever  affected  the  moral  or  political  world  ;  an  event  the  reper- 
cussion of  which  still  impresses  at  the  present  time  a  principle 
of  motion  and  life  upon  the  whole  intellectual  world.  It  is 
here  that  the  greatest,  the  most  just,  the  most  wise,  the  most 
virtuous,  of  all  men  emerged  from  obscurity,  from  ignorance 
and  misery ;  here  was  his  cradle,  here  was  the  theatre  of  his 
actions  and  his  affecting  discourses.  Thence  he  departed, 
whilst  yet  in  his  youth,  with  a  few  obscure  and  illiterate  men, 
whom  he  had  inspired  with  confidence  in  his  genius,  and  with 
courage  for  the  accomplishment  of  their  mission,  which  was 
knowingly  to  contend  against  an  order  of  ideas  and  things  not 
strong  enough  to  resist  him,  but  still  strong  enough  to  cause 
his  death.  Thence,  I  repeat,  he  went  forth  with  confidence  to 
conquer  death,  and  the  universal  empire  of  posterity ;  thence 
has  flowed  Christianity,  its  source  obscure  ;  a  drop  of  water 
unperceived  in  the  hollow  of  the  rock  of  Nazareth,  from  which 
two  sparrows  could  scarcely  allay  their  thirst,  which  a  single 
beam  of  the  sun  could  have  absorbed,  and  which,  at  the  pres- 
ent day,  like  the  vast  ocean  of  mind,  has  filled  every  abyss  of 
human  wisdom,  and  bathed  with  its  inexhaustible  waves  the 
past,  the  present,  and  the  future.  Did  I  entertain  a  doubt  of 
the  divinity  of  that  event,  still  would  my  soul  have  been 
strongly  affected  on  approaching  the  first  theatre  on  which  the 
glorious  deed  was  enacted,  and  I  should  have  uncovered  my 
head,  and  bent  my  forehead  in  reverence  of  that  occult  and 
governing  will  which  has  made  such  mighty  and  important 
things  flow  from  so  weak  and  so  imperceptible  a  commence- 
ment. 

"  But,  on  considering  the  mysteries  of  Christianity  as  a  Chris- 
tian, it  was  here,  under  this  small  portion  of  the  blue  firma- 
ment, at  the  bottom  of  this  narrow  and  sombre  valley,  under 
the  shadow  of  this  little  hill,  the  old  rocks  of  which  appear 


THE    INFANCY    OF    CHRIST.  23 

even  at  the  present  day  to  be  all  split  with  the  trembling  of  joy 
which  they  experienced  in  giving  birth  to  and  in  bearing  the 
infant  Word,  or  with  the  shivering  of  grief  which  they  felt  in 
entombing  the  Word  crucified  ;  here  was  the  fatal  and  holy 
spot  of  the  world  which  God  selected  from  all  eternity,  on 
which  his  truth,  his  justice,  and  his  incarnate  love,  in  an  infant 
God,  was  to  descend  upon  the  earth  ;  it  was  here  that  the  divine 
breath  descended,  at  its  proper  time,  in  a  poor  cottage,  the 
abode  of  humble  labor,  of  simplicity  of  mind,  and  misfortune ; 
it  was  here,  that  within  the  bosom  of  a  pure  and  innocent  vir- 
gin, he  gave  life  to  something  like  herself,  sweet,  tender,  and 
compassionate  ;  as  a  man,  it  was  full  of  suffering,  patience, 
and  lamentation  ;  as  a  God,  it  was  powerful,  supernatural, 
wise,  and  strong ;  it  was  here  that  the  God-man  submitted  to 
our  ignorance,  our  weakness,  our  labor,  and  our  misery,  during 
the  obscure  years  of  his  retired  life,  and  in  some  measure 
entered  into  the  exercises  of  it,  and  practised  the  ways  of  the 
world,  before  he  edified  it  by  his  word,  healed  it  by  his  prodi- 
gies, and  regenerated  it  by  his  death  ;  it  was  here  that  the 
heavens  opened,  from  which  burst  forth  upon  the  world  his 
incarnate  spirit,  his  fulminating  word,  which  was  to  consume 
till  the  end  of  time  all  error  and  iniquity,  to  try,  as  in  the  fire 
of  the  crucible,  our  virtues  and  our  vices,  and  to  kindle  before 
the  only  holy  God  that  incense  which  was  never  afterwards  to 
be  extinguished,  the  incense  of  the  renovated  altar,  the  perfume 
of  universal  charity  and  truth." 

Yes,  along  those  ancient  plains  reverberated  the  angelic 
shout,  "  Glory  to  God  in  the  highest,  on  earth  peace,  good  will 
to  men.'"  There  the  Word  sowed  divine  seed,  and  the  Spirit 
made  it  productive.  For  eighteen  centuries  men  have  seen  it 
blossom  and  ripen ;  they  recognize  the  beneficence  of  a  God 
in  the  inexhaustible  supply,  and  every  where  pant  to  feed  on 
the  fruit  produced  from  that  tree  of  life  which  was  removed 
from  the  paradise  radiant  with  riches  of  every  kind,  and  planted 
in  the  abode  of  the  wretchedly  poor.  Lamb  of  God,  thy  birth- 
place was  well  chosen,  and  thy  first  moan  seems  to  say,  "  Chil- 


24  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

dren  of  a  fallen  race,  the  night  is  dark,  but  the  morning  breaks  ! 
Liberty  is  born  !  " 

In  the  third  place,  in  his  advent,  Christ  was  the  type  of  all- 
exalting  power  and  the  pledge  of  universal  redemption. 

Whenever  God  wishes  to  execute  some  grand  result,  one  of 
those  comprehensive  and  profound  revolutions  which  leave 
perpetual  traces  among  mankind,  —  when  he  would  rend  down 
the  obscure  curtains  of  his  providence,  and  reveal  newer  and 
vaster  domains  whereon  to  develop  his  own  almightiness  and 
the  expanding  faculties  of  man,  —  he  does  not  ordinarily  choose 
as  instruments  those  who  are  armed  with  power  or  clothed  with 
authority ;  but,  in  some  retired  walk  of  life,  on  some  secluded 
farm,  in  some  lonely  shop,  suddenly  his  potent  spirit  seizes  a 
rugged  worker,  unknown,  unlettered,  void  of  all  force  save 
that  which  swells  in  his  aspiring  soul,  and,  from  that  obscurity, 
go  forth  trumpet  tones  to  arouse  the  nations,  flame  and  energy 
to  enlighten  and  bless  mankind.  He  who  possesses  all  re- 
sources, and  can  readily  select  from  means  infinitely  diversified, 
sees  fit  forever  to  employ  weak  things  in  the  destruction  of  the 
mighty.  Before  honor  is  humility,  or  a  lowly  station.  Joseph 
was  raised  from  the  prison  to  the  throne.  Moses  and  David 
were  called  from  the  shepherd's  fold  to  feed  the  inheritance  of 
the  Lord.  Gideon  acknowledged  himself  to  be  of  M  the  least 
of  the  families  of  Israel ; "  but  the  great  Captain  of  our  salva- 
tion arose  from  an  origin  still  more  obscure.  It  would  seem  to 
be  the  initiatory  truth  of  Christianity,  that  the  lower  one  de- 
scends in  humiliation,  the  higher  shall  he  rise  in  exaltation. 
The  lower  his  foundation  of  humility  is  laid,  the  loftier  and 
wider  shall  his  crown  of  glory  shine. 

More  true  greatness  is  born  in  hovels  than  in  palaces.  All 
great  conservative  influences  come  up  from  the  oppressed  and 
industrious  classes.  Ordinarily  from  the  husbandman's  cottage 
or  the  artisan's  shop  emerge  the  efficient  pioneers  of  social 
improvement  and  national  weal.  As  the  exponents  and  exec- 
utors of  divine  purposes,  they  trample  on  hoary  wrongs,  dis- 
solve unholy  coalitions,  and  win  deliverance  for  the  down- 


THE    INFANCY    OF    CHRIST.  25 

trodden  every  where.  They  are  the  true  nobility  of  heaven, 
the  born  monarchs  of  mind,  whose  credentials  are  manifest  in 
their  beneficent  deeds,  and  whose  patent  of  royalty  consists  in 
their  native  grandeur  of  soul.  They  are  infinitely  greater 
than  the  kings  of  physical  empire,  since  they  can  defy  the 
greatest  concentration  of  martial  force,  and  laugh  to  scorn  the 
rack  and  the  flame.  The  god-leavened  ponderers  on  creation, 
and  the  god-armed  deliverers  of  their  race,  always  struggle  up 
from  the  lowest  depths  of  experience,  meditation,  development, 
till  they  obtain  a  firm  hold  on  the  deepest  as  well  as  broadest 
mass :  then  how  these  moral  Titans  will  make  the  mountains 
shake  !  They  have  drunk  from  every  bitter  cup,  felt  the  gall- 
ing weight  of  every  burden,  smarted  under  every  lash ;  their 
own  wounds  have  become  the  inlets  through  which  they  im- 
bibe the  pangs  of  all  their  brethren  in  endurance  vile,  and  they 
rise  up  in  the  omnipotence  of  humanity  made  divine  by  its 
purpose  to  redeem  and  disinthrall  mankind. 

Individual  excellence  dawns  on  the  world  from  obscurity, 
like  day  from  night.  The  mightiest  rivers  rise  from  sources 
the  most  occult,  and  the  brightest  gems  are  found  in  caverns 
the  most  obscure.  Like  Iceland  moss,  the  finest  capacities  of 
our  race  often  grow  beneath  the  snow,  and  must  thence  be 
sought.  The  matured  champion  is  a  babeling  at  first,  cradled 
in  poverty,  nursed  on  the  bosom  of  loveliness,  invigorated  by 
stern  realities,  while  down  on  his  loneliness  heavenly  beams 
are  streaming,  and  filling  him  with  splendors  in  due  time  to 
inundate  the  globe.  It  may  be  that  the  young  heart  for  a  long 
time  lies  torn  and  bleeding  in  the  predestined  deliverer,  before 
it  has  generated  momentum  adequate  to  the  emergencies  he  is 
called  to  meet.  Gently  at  first  gleam  angelic  thoughts  on  the 
darkness  of  the  infant  brain ;  long  and  silently  in  the  soul 
mature  the  incipient  purposes  of  moral  warfare,  like  unfolded 
flowers  in  the  profoundest  depths  of  the  sea  ;  but  by  and  by 
they  burst  on  the  world's  gaze  and  fill  heaven  with  odors  most 
sweet.  Such  a  heart  is  born  to  become  the  temple  of  religion 
the  most  pure,  the  difFuser  of  an  influence  the  most  beneficent, 
3 


26  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

and  the  tomb  in  which  it  goes  at  length  a  broken  sacrifice  to 
repose,  becomes  the  altar  of  liberty  for  all  our  race. 

"  'Tis  rare  in  Fame's  rich,  galaxy  to  shine 
With  steadfast  blaze  unwithering,  but  to  dawn 
From  darkness,  scatter  off  the  black  eclipse 
That  veils  the  withered  lustre  —  this,  most  rare, 
Maketh  man's  soul  an  everlasting  fire 
Worthy  the  God  that  hung  the  heavens  with  light ; 
'Tis  hard  for  downcast  spirit  to  o'erleap 
Ruin's  sad  barriers  ;  but  Heaven's  angels  drop 
Soft  dews  beneath  his  burning  feet,  his  flight 
Imp  with  strong  plumes ;  his  coming  doth  adorn 
The  earth  he  moves  on  ;  till  Remorse,  abashed, 
Before  the  orient  glories  fades  and  flies." 

We  have  observed  that  all  exalting  power  springs  from  the 
dense  masses  of  mankind  ;  that  redemption  is  seldom  or  never 
born  in  the  palace  but  in  the  hut ;  and  that  of  this  fact  Jesus 
Christ  is  the  highest  illustration  and  the  most  striking  type. 
We  would  here  add,  that  the  greater  the  want  the  greater  will 
be  the  supply  which  Providence  ever  grants  to  suffering  man. 
Great  occasions  have  never  been  wanting  in  great  champions ; 
nor  have  the  greatest  and  best  of  heroes  ever  failed  in  finding 
fitting  scope  for  the  divinest  energies  they  possessed.  This 
palpable  and  merciful  law  is  of  itself  sufficient  to  demonstrate 
the  existence  of  an  infinitely  wise  and  powerful  Lawgiver. 
Its  most  glorious  exemplification  was  recognized  by  the  wise 
men  who  came  to  Bethlehem.  They  there  found  Immanuel, 
God  with  us,  born  at  the  base  of  the  pyramid  of  human  soci- 
ety, where  the  masses  are  broadest  and  most  oppressed,  far 
down  there  unveiling  the  Sun  of  Righteousness,  that  up  through 
all  the  superincumbent  myriads  of  men,  purifying  and  eman- 
cipating beams  might  shine  to  diffuse  impartial  goodness  and 
universal  hope.  The  ancient  patriarch  saw  in  his  dream  a 
ladder  reaching  from  earth  to  heaven.  Perhaps  its  foot  meas- 
ured the  broad  diameter  of  earth,  but  its  top  rested  at  a  single 
point  on  the  throne  of  God.  Christ  came  to  give  substance  to 
that  vision,  in  the  presence  of  all  men,  as  the  inspiration  of 


INFANCY    OF    CHRIST.  27 

faith  and  encouragement  of  hope,  to  pour  effulgence  from  base 
to  summit  of  that  highway  to  glory,  planting  attendant  angels 
on  the  lowest  step,  increasing  attractions  at  each  ascent,  and 
the  amplest  provisions  of  immortal  joy  at  the  journey's  end. 

It  remains  to  show  that  Christ  was  not  only  the  type  of  all 
exalting  power,  but  that  he  was  the  pledge  of  universal  free- 
dom. This  will  appear  from  a  consideration  of  the  divine  na- 
ture he  possessed,  and  the  divine  tokens  which  heralded  his 
birth.  He  was  the  "  Word  made  flesh,"  the  creativeness  of 
Jehovah  incarnate  among  a  created,  fallen  race,  himself  with- 
out sin  and  powerful  to  redeem  the  depraved  from  every  stain. 
A  word  is  the  clothing  of  an  idea ;  an  idea  never  presents 
itself  made  ;  the  human  mind  can  only  conceive  it  under  the 
drapery  of  expression.  As  soon  as  an  idea  presents  itself,  the 
mind  hastens  to  create  the  equivalent  word ;  without  this  the 
idea  remains  vague  at  least,  if  not  forever  unseizable.  Christ 
was  the  incarnation  of  eternal  power,  ancient  truth  and  mercy 
imbodied.  He  was  the  Word  made  flesh,  the  Divinity  in  idea 
divinely  clothed  in  a  vesture  of  manhood,  God  humanized.  In 
order  to  save  man,  to  conduct  him  to  the  Supreme,  the  Word, 
all-creative  from  eternity,  becomes  flesh  in  time  on  behalf  of 
those  who  could  not  behold  him  as  Divinity  alone.  He  as- 
sumes mortal  shape  and  substance,  passes  through  every  phase 
of  human  experience,  and  through  a  human  voice,  thrilling 
through  human  sympathies,  calls  to  himself  those  who,  by 
being  first  conformed  to  the  God  incarnate,  may  afterwards 
gaze  on  the  unclouded  majesties  of  Jehovah.  May  not  this  be 
the  meaning  of  Paul  ?  "  Though  we  have  known  Christ  after 
the  flesh,  yet  now  henceforth  know  we  him  no  more."  He 
became  human  and  dwelt  among  us.  He  was  transformed  on 
the  mount,  where  he  not  only  appeared  in  his  own  glory,  but 
where  he  caused  the  spiritual  law  and  the  prophecies  to  be 
represented  by  Moses  and  Elias.  Then  they  who  were  pres- 
ent could  say,  "  We  have  seen  his  glory,  the  glory  of  the 
only  Son  of  the  Father,  full  of  grace  and  truth."  Those 
spirits   whom   Christ    summoned   to  the  transfiguration,   and 


28  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

revealed  to  men  panting  with  astonishment  on  earth,  were  old 
acquaintances,  with  whom  he  talked  in  familiar  terms  respect- 
ing the  great  redemption  he  had  come  to  achieve.  Older  than 
the  human  race,  mightier  than  the  worlds  he  formed,  the  babe 
of  Bethlehem  struggled  into  being  amid  tears,  and  groans,  and 
oppressions,  that  from  the  ox's  stall  and  that  shepherd  group 
might  go  forth  a  transforming  power  to  revolutionize  all  tyran- 
nical customs  and  break  all  accursed  bonds.  He  was  the  new 
representative  of  mankind,  a  divine  one,  the  destroyer  of  hea- 
thenism, the  founder  of  a  new  era,  the  universal  atoner,  the  first 
born  of  God,  the  father  of  a  new  spiritual  human  race.  His 
advent  was  unseen  save  to  the  pure,  the  humble,  and  discon- 
solate, and  was  as  noiseless  as  the  falling  dew  or  gleaming  stars. 
But  as  that  young  breath  first  blended  with  the  chill  night  air 
where  suffering  reclined,  and  even  the  brute  creation  moaned, 
earth  felt  a  new  power  whispering  above  and  penetrating  be- 
neath, like  light  and  life  pervading  every  where,  foretelling 
complete  redemption  and  universal  joy. 

Man  has  indeed  become  debased,  cast  down,  and  trodden 
under  foot.  He  has  crawled  on  abjectly  for  centuries  in  the 
very  dust.  Tyranny,  superstition,  and  vice  have  bound  him 
in  cruel  fetters,  and  hurled  him  down  to  the  caverns  of  igno- 
rance and  night.  But  the  vital  spark  has  never  been  extin- 
guished ;  the  most  outrageous  abuse  can  never  quite  obliterate 
the  image  of  God  in  his  soul.  In  the  deepest  degradation, 
in  the  gloomiest  dungeon,  man  has  ever  prayed  for  light  and 
struggled  for  freedom.  Independence  of  mind,  of  heart,  of 
body,  of  soul,  —  this  is  the  great  boon  designed  by  Heaven  for 
all ;  and  to  reconquer  this  the  wonderful  star  burned  on  the  hills 
of  Judea,  and  Mary  laid  her  still  more  wonderful  child  in  the  ox's 
crib.  He  will  come  forth  from  that  comfortless  abode  to  be- 
stow on  earth  richer  blessings  than  all  her  kings  can  give  — 
moral  and  intellectual  improvement;  free  limbs  to  toil  and 
free  minds  to  soar ;  blood  unchilled  by  the  oppressor's  touch  ; 
thoughts,  souls,  swift  to  compass  the  skies  and  ascend  to 
heaven. 


THE    INFANCY    OF   CHRIST.  29 

We  live  in  an  age  of  fearful  commotion.  A  mighty  storm  is 
overturning  thrones  and  changing  the  aspect  of  whole  conti- 
nents. What  we  have  yet  seen  is  only  the  beginning  of  the 
end.  The  germs  of  more  radical  and  comprehensive  revolu- 
tions were  planted  eighteen  centuries  ago.  In  order  to  interpret 
the  present  and  anticipate  the  future  correctly,  it  is  necessary 
often  to  go  back  in  thought  and  "  place  ourselves  at  the  Chris- 
tian era.  This  was,  in  every  respect,  a  most  interesting  period. 
It  was  the  one  to  which  all  prior  history  had  been  pointing. 
It  was  '  the  fulness  of  time,'  for  which  all  preceding  time  had 
been  making  ready.  It  stands  conspicuous,  not  because  a 
new  order  of  things,  different  in  causes  and  tendency  entirely 
from  the  old,  was  then  established,  —  but  because  a  new 
and  mighty  instrument  was  then  first  put  forth,  in  aid  of 
the  same  purpose,  which  before  had  made  but  slow  and  feeble 
progress.  For  these  reasons,  therefore,  that  it  imbodies  in 
itself  the  result  of  all  that  had  gone  before,  and  because  the 
series  of  events,  from  that  time  to  this,  is  sufficiently  long  to 
illustrate  their  connection,  it  is  the  most  appropriate  and  inter- 
esting point  that  we  can  start  from." 

We  stand,  then,  at  that  momentous  period,  which  the  intro- 
duction of  Christianity  has  immortalized.  And  what  is  the 
first  thought  that  bursts  upon  our  mind  ?  It  is,  that  we  are 
standing,  at  the  very  moment,  in  the  midst  of  a  most  glorious 
revolution — a  revolution  glorious  in  itself,  but  incomparably 
more  so  in  its  tremendous  and  never-ending  effects  upon  the 
human  race.  Yes,  the  star  that  rose  in  the  east,  —  mild,  peace- 
able, and  radiant,  as  the  young  child  to  which  it  pointed  ;  the 
guide  of  the  wise  men ;  the  light,  as  it  has  proved,  of  the 
world,  —  the  "  star  in  the  east"  was  the  herald  of  an  event, 
mightier  in  itself,  and  mightier  in  its  consequences,  than  any 
which  the  dazzling  sun,  in  all  his  brilliancy,  ever  looked  upon. 
The  paean  of  angels,  as  it  sounded  in  the  ears  of  the  shep- 
herds on  the  plains  of  Bethlehem,  proclaimed  the  advent  of  a 
Being,  before  whom  and  whose  kingdom  tyrants  have  trem- 
bled and  conquerors  fled  away.  The  introduction  of  Chris- 
3* 


30  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

tianity  was,  indeed,  a  revolution.  And  what  a  revolution ! 
Where  can  we  learn  that  such  events  belong  to  the  world, 
that  they  interest  man,  whenever  and  wherever  he  is  found,  if 
not  from  this,  the  first,  the  greatest  of  the  series  ?  Where  can 
we  be  taught  that  the  great  end  of  great  events  has  been  the 
improvement,  the  progress,  the  elevation  of  man,  if  not  in  this, 
this  "  Heaven's  best  gift  to  man  "  ?  We  need  not  say,  in  this 
day  and  generation,  that  Christianity  stopped  not  with  those  to 
whom  it  was  proclaimed,  that  the  influence  of  this  greatest, 
because  religious  revolution  was  neither  limited  nor  partial. 

For  what  was  Christianity,  and  what  was  the  purpose  of  the 
revolution  which  ushered  it  in  ?  It  came,  indeed,  to  proclaim 
that  there  was  a  God,  a  kind  and  beneficent  Father.  It  pointed 
to  a  heaven.  It  spoke  of  a  hereafter.  But  it  did  more  than 
this.  It  came  nearer  to  man  as  an  inhabitant  of  earth.  It 
whispered  to  him  that  he  was  an  immortal  being ;  that  he  had 
within  him  a  noble  spirit,  capable  of  exalted  attainments,  and 
destined  to  lofty  purposes,  even  here  ;  a  spark  of  divinity  itself. 
It  bade  him  cultivate,  improve,  exalt  it.  It  bade  him  rise  up  in 
his  native  strength,  to  shake  off  the  tyranny  of  ignorance,  of 
vice,  and  of  his  fellow-man ;  to  burst  asunder  the  shackles 
which  bound  down  his  high  nature.  It  bade  him  be  free ;  in 
mind,  that  he  might  be  intelligent ;  in  conscience,  that  he  might 
be  holy ;  free  in  every  thing,  as  his  Creator  had  designed  him. 
This  was  the  grand  purpose  of  the  Christian  dispensation,  to 
fit  man  for  heaven,  by  making  him  all  that  he  could  be  on 
earth,  and  to  give  him  an  impulse,  in  this  upward  direction, 
which  he  should  feel  to  the  end  of  time. 

In  the  book  of  Revelation  the  perpetual  promise  to  the  Re- 
deemer is,  "  I  will  give  him  the  morning  star."  Yes,  there,  in 
the  sombre,  but  yet  brightening  skies,  still  shines,  in  full  view 
of  man,  the  ever-enduring  star  of  morn,  the  herald  and  pledge 
of  that  "  hope  that  comes  to  all."  Beneath  its  placid  beams 
the  great  purposes  of  infinite  love  and  mercy  will  be  rolled 
into  full  execution.  Neither  kingcraft  nor  priestcraft  can  hurl 
it  from  its  lofty  home,  nor  has  hell  storms  dark  enough  en- 
tirely to  obscure  its  cheering  light.     It  will  forever  shine,  the 


THE    YOUTH   OF    CHRIST.  31 

pledge  of  deliverance  from  all  wrongs,  and  freedom  to  all  ranks  ; 
the  memento  of  that  beginning  of  good  days  when  God  de- 
scended to  the  lowest  parts  of  earth,  that  he  might  exalt  man  to 
the  sublimest  heights  of  heaven. 

"  All  stars,  that  fill  Time's  mystic  diadem, 
Are  falling  stars,  save  that  of  Bethlehem." 


CHAPTER    II. 

THE    YOUTH    OF    CHRIST. 

IN  HIS  YOUTH,   OCCUPIED  IN  TOIL  SUCH  AS   THE   GREAT   MAJORITY 
OF  MEN  PURSUE. 

Jesus  Christ  came  into  this  world  to  redeem  it,  to  fill  it 
with  needful  instruction  and  saving  grace.  There  is  not  only 
infinite  efficacy  in  the  power  of  his  blood  to  cleanse  from  sin  ; 
there  is  also  light  in  his  life  adapted  to  every  age,  force  in  his 
example  vouchsafed  to  sustain  the  aspiring  every  where,  and 
fortify  the  weak.  The  period  of  early  youth,  his  preliminary 
training,  is  less  amply  portrayed  in  the  Gospels  than  his  public 
ministry ;  but  the  stupendous  achievements  of  his  maturity 
bear  an  intimate  relation  to  his  juvenile  career,  rendering  it 
desirable  that  we  should  contemplate  the  entire  life  of  the 
great  Redeemer  as  a  unit,  his  teachings  and  actions  as  they  are 
connected  throughout,  so  as  to  derive  the  greatest  profit  from 
the  harmonious  view. 

In  this  discussion,  we  will  consider  two  general  points.  In 
his  youth,  Christ  was  occupied  in  toil  such  as  the  great  majority 
of  men  pursue.  That  toil  was  prosecuted  under  circumstances 
adapted  to  develop  his  powers,  and  prepare  him  for  the  perfect 
accomplishment  of  his  divine  mission  on  earth. 

In  the  first  place,  Christ,  in  his  youthful  condition  on  earth, 


32  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

was  occupied  in  toil  such  as  the  great  majority  of  men  pursue. 
The  Roman  domination  embraced  nearly  all  the  known  world, 
when  the  Redeemer  was  born  at  the  precise  moment  and  in  the 
exact  locality  where  the  sacred  oracles  had  predicted  that  he 
should  appear.  Springing  from  a  race  of  kings,  and,  in  his 
extreme  indigence,  deprived  even  of  the  humblest  asylum  upon 
the  earth  he  came  to  save,  he  represented  in  this  double  state 
the  entire  race  of  man.  All  the  unfortunate  who  bear  the 
burdens  of  toil  and  of  pain,  exiled  patriotism,  banished  merit, 
wandering  tribes,  and  outraged  benefactors  of  every  degree, 
may  turn  to  the  babe  of  Bethlehem,  and  recognize  a  brother  in 
"  Him  through  whom  Jehovah  bestows  salvation,"  who  was 
cradled  into  suffering  by  both  power  and  want,  and  was  from 
the  outset  violently  pursued  by  the  tyranny  he  came  to  overthrow. 
Several  of  the  first  years  of  our  Lord's  temporal  life  were 
passed  in  almost  entire  obscurity,  wherein  he  accomplished  the 
destiny  of  man,  eating  the  bread  which  he  gained  in  the  sweat 
of  his  brow.  Submissive  to  every  filial  obligation,  it  is  recorded 
that  he  obeyed  Joseph  and  Mary  with  perfect  docility  ;  he  ac- 
complished with  them  the  precepts  of  the  law,  and  it  was  thus 
that  he  grew  in  wisdom,  in  age,  and  in  favor  before  God  and 
men.  As  the  deliverer  of  man  condemned,  the  ennobler  of  man 
degraded,  it  was  necessary  that  Jesus  should  at  every  step  be 
the  model  of  man  in  perfection,  the  source  of  all  the  graces  by 
which  we  can,  in  following  his  precepts,  and  imitating  his 
examples,  reestablish  in  ourselves  the  image  of  God,  which  sin 
has  defaced.  No  period  of  his  progress,  no  incident  in  his  life, 
is  unworthy  of  our  profoundest  study.  We  should  strive  to 
penetrate  the  thoughts  of  eternal  wisdom,  and  contemplate  his 
ways  in  the  marvellous  work  of  our  redemption. 

Infinite  wisdom  has  not  seen  fit  to  grant  us  copious  and 
minute  details  of  our  Savior's  early  life,  but  enough  are  trans- 
mitted to  us  to  excite  interesting  thoughts  and  impart  the  most 
profitable  lessons.  The  events  of  his  maturity  command  our 
attention  by  their  grandeur;  but  they  are  not  the  only  ones 
worthy  of  our  observation.     On  the  contrary,  we  should  study 


THE    YOUTH    OF    CHRIST.  33 

the  growth  of  this  divine  Being,  "  seek  for  the  bud  which  con- 
cealed the  seed,  and  the  powers  that  conspired  to  unfold  it." 

No  other  child  was  ever  harassed  by  adversity  and  subject  to 
the  necessity  of  exhausting  toil,  like  Jesus  Christ.  It  began  in 
the  manger  and  ended  only  on  the  cross.  A  divine  messenger 
came  to  Joseph,  and  directed  him  to  fly  with  the  child  and  his 
mother  to  Egypt.  Think  of  the  length  of  the  journey  required  ; 
the  ignorance  of  the  parents  with  respect  to  the  way  they  were 
to  pursue  ;  the  youth  and  feebleness  of  Mary,  and  the  trembling 
age  of  Joseph  ;  the  delicate  condition  of  the  infant  they  were  to 
transport  so  far,  over  so  rough  a  way  ;  and  especially  think  how 
utterly  unprovided  they  were  with  means  of  supporting  them- 
selves in  a  foreign  land.  Groups  of  the  lonely,  sojourning  in 
poverty  far  away  from  natal  soil,  behold  your  prototype  and 
consolation  in  Christ !  How  did  that  family  procure  food  by  the 
way,  a  shelter  from  the  sun,  and  a  covert  from  the  storm  ? 
Think  of  the  tasks  and  sorrows  that  encompassed  the  child 
Jesus,  in  the  dawning  of  his  first  consciousness,  and  the  exer- 
cise of  his  first  strength. 

At  length  the  angel  of  the  Lord  again  appears  unto  Joseph, 
saying,  "  Take  the  boy  and  his  mother,  and  go  into  the  land  of 
Israel ;  for  they  are  dead  who  sought  the  life  of  the  boy."  Jo- 
sephus  has  told  us  who  the  tyrant  was  who  had  driven  the  young 
Redeemer  from  Judea,  and  whose  death  now  allows  his  return. 
It  was  that  Herod,  who,  at  the  close  of  a  blood-stained  life  of 
seventy  years,  goaded  by  the  furies  of  an  evil  conscience, 
racked  by  a  painful  and  incurable  disease,  waiting  for  death  but 
desiring  life,  raging  against  God  and  man,  and  maddened  by 
the  thought  that  the  Jews,  instead  of  bewailing  his  death,  would 
rejoice  over  it  as  the  greatest  of  blessings,  commanded  the 
worthies  of  the  nation  to  be  assembled  in  the  Circus,  and  issued 
a  secret  order  that,  after  his  death,  they  should  all  be  slain 
together,  so  that  their  kindred,  at  least,  might  have  cause  to 
weep  for  his  death.  It  was  this  monster  who  sought  to  destroy 
the  infant  Christ,  and  it  is  the  like  of  him  that  perpetually 
persecute  the  innocent,  feeble,  and  unfortunate  of  earth.  But 
he  who  is  about  to  return  from  Egypt  will  grow  up  to  be  a 


34  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

mightier  than  Moses  to  conduct  the  people  from  bondage  and 
deliver  the  tyrant's  prey.  His  first  impressions  are  those  of 
cruel  wrongs  ;  his  earliest  days  are  troubled  by  despotic  rage  ; 
his  youthful  limbs  are  chafed  with  incessant  toil ;  and  he  grows 
up  keenly  to  observe  on  the  one  hand  benignant  old  age  buf- 
fetted  by  scorn  and  doubt,  while  on  the  other  the  "  bright 
consummate  flower  "  of  her  sex  bends  before  the  storm  she 
cannot  resist,  diligently  labors  to  foster  the  excellence  she  has 
produced,  and  at  the  source  of  human  hope  and  fear  tempers 
for  our  redemption  the  swelling  attributes  of  one  mighty  to 
save.  Thus,  says  Neander,  "  in  the  very  beginning  of  the 
life  of  Him  who  was  to  save  the  world,  we  see  a  foreshadow- 
ing of  what  it  was  afterwards  to  be.  The  believing  souls,  to 
whom  the  lofty  import  of  that  life  was  shown  by  divine  signs, 
saw  in  it  the  fulfilment  of  their  longings ;  the  power  of  the 
world,  ever  subservient  to  evil,  raged  against  it ;  but  amid 
all  dangers,  the  hand  of  God  guided  and  brought  it  forth 
victorious." 

From  this  general  statement  of  the  circumstances  attendant 
on  the  early  days  of  Christ  on  earth,  let  us  proceed  to  remark 
that  the  suffering  and  toil  into  which  he  was  plunged  at  so 
tender  an  age  were  adapted  to  develop  his  powers  and  fit  him 
for  the  perfect  accomplishment  of  the  redemption  he  came  to 
execute.  The  painful  experience  of  his  earliest  struggles  had 
the  triple  advantage  of  unfolding  his  energies,  his  sympathies, 
and  his  aspirations. 

In  the  first  place,  as  is  the  case  with  all  redeemers,  his  best 
energies  were  developed  by  the  worst  trials.  Christ  assumed 
our  nature,  bore  our  sorrows,  fought  our  battles,  won  our  tri- 
umphs. He  came  to  this  tearful  and  stormful  earth  to  live  out 
in  actual  experience,  from  the  first  pang  to  the  last,  the  spiritual 
sorrows  and  physical  deprivations  of  all  Adam's  race.  Mon- 
arch supreme  in  heaven,  and  regal  on  earth  even  by  right  of 
birth,  he  chose  to  appear  in  the  most  humble  condition.  For 
oursakes  he  became  poor,  and  entered  upon  the  conquest  of  the 
world  without  noticing  either  its  honors  or  its  emoluments.  In 
the  eye  of  the  wealthy  and  powerful  he  was  regarded  only  as 


THE    YOUTH    OF    CHRIST.  35 

"  the  carpenter's  son."  The  morning  of  his  career  dawned 
in  the  lowest  vale  of  life,  where  he  shared  the  sufferings  of  the 
most  destitute,  the  wretched  abode  of  cattle  even,  for  there 
was  no  room  for  him  and  his  associates  at  the  inn.  Such  was 
the  pomp  in  which  the'Deliverer  of  mankind  appeared.  The 
first  acts  of  his  divinity  here  below  were  struggles  against  want, 
and  his  destitution  increased  in  proportion  as  his  functions 
arose.  The  foxes  had  holes,  and  the  fowls  of  the  air  had 
nests  ;  but  the  Son  of  man  had  no  reposing  place  for  his  head. 
Poor  and  toil-worn  to  the  end,  he  earned  all  with  his  own 
hands,  or  received  from  charity  the  bread  he  ate,  the  garments 
he  wore,  and  the  winding-sheet  in  which  he  was  entombed. 
Whoever  has  struggled  with  difficulties  almost  to  strangling  at 
the  very  outset  of  his  heroical  career,  —  whoever  has  toiled 
all  day  to  win  a  scanty  sustenance,  and,  in  mental  desolateness 
and  gloom  deeper  than  night,  has  shrieked  in  agony  to  the 
God  of  heaven,  —  whoever  has  cloaked  his  outward  wants  and 
inward  aspirations  beneath  the  humble  mechanic's  garb,  and 
gone  forth,  firm,  silent,  and  resolute,  learning  the  "  priceless 
wisdom  from  endurance  drawn"  among  his  fellow-men, — 
whoever  has  mourned  for  "  all  the  oppressions  which  are  done 
under  the  sun,"  and  been  "  mad  for  the  sight  of  his  eyes  that 
he  did  see,"  —  whoever  has  felt  all  the  "  wanderer  in  his 
soul,"  and  striven  through  the  tender  years  of  youth  with 
sweating  brow,  blistered  hands,  and  bleeding  heart,  to  win  the 
weapons  of  moral  warfare,  and  cleave  a  way  to  self-emanci- 
pation and  the  disinthralment  of  all  mankind,  —  let  him  come 
and  hug  to  his  bosom  that  brother  of  the  poor  and  young 
champion  of  the  weak ;  let  him  receive  cheering  words  of 
fellow-feeling,  and  strength  that  shall  never  fail,  from  that 
Boy  of  Nazareth,  the  working  Son  of  God.  And  in  his  inter- 
course with  such  an  example  of  overcoming  courage  and 
patient  efforts  for  the  common  weal,  let  him  never  despond, 
but  remember 

"He  that  is  born  is  listed;  life  is  war  — 
Eternal  war  with  woe." 


36  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

Early  to  task  the  energies  of  a  predestined  hero  through 
severe  toil  is  gradually  to  make  him  acquainted  with  his  latent 
might,  and  causes  him  to  taste  the  glory  of  his  own  puttings 
forth  and  triumphs.  It  is  thus  that  personal  power  is  quickened 
and  kept  in  motion.  All  that  is  divine  on  earth  must  be  de- 
veloped and  find  expansive  scope  through  resolute  exertion. 
Of  what  use  are  wings  to  a  young  eagle  so  long  as  he  sits  in 
his  eyry,  looking  out  idly  upon  the  vast  expanse  around  him  ? 
Because  the  first  flappings  of  those  pinions  are  of  necessity 
feeble,  they  are  not  therefore  to  be  kept  perpetually  unem- 
ployed. Mere  instinct  teaches  the  parent  bird  better  than 
this.  He  early  induces  his  young  to  try  his  strength,  and  if 
he  refuses,  for  lack  of  confidence,  he  pitches  him  out ;  and  a 
few  weeks  of  trials,  constantly  increased,  constitute  the  glory 
and  the  joy  of  the  young  monarch  of  the  air.  Had  he  been 
moored  in  the  dove's  downy  nest,  his  first  flight  would  have 
sent  him  down  dazzled  before  the  rising  day  ;  but  with  strong 
plumes  growing  from  within  himself,  and  strengthened  by 
struggles  to  surmount  or  penetrate  opposing  blasts,  he  wins 
and  adorns  the  birthright  of  his  race,  darting  to  the  zenith 
unblenched,  and  bathing  himself  in  the  splendors  of  the  noon- 
tide sun.  The  very  condition  of  one  in  this  world  of  sin  and 
sorrow  —  the  obscurity  in  which  we  perish,  or  from  which  we 
are  compelled  to  emerge  —  vicissitudes  of  even'  degree,  and 
wants  of  every  kind  —  every  objective  difficulty,  and  every 
subjective  trial  —  all  that  can  by  any  possibility  be  made  to 
invigorate  the  body  or  arouse  the  mind  —  may  be  regarded  as 
the  compost  out  of  which  true  heroism  draws  sap,  acquires 
fibre,  and  imbibes  the  sustenance  which  aids  the  rising  cham- 
pion to  disclose  the  hidden  beauty  of  his  spirit,  the  symmetry 
of  his  form,  and  the  flexile  majesty  of  his  invincible  strength. 
Says  Cowper,  truly, — 

"  Xo  soil  like  poverty  for  growth  divine, 
As  leanest  land  supplies  the  richest  -wine." 

All  our  higher  faculties  gain  infinitely  more  of  purity  and 
power  by  breathing  in  content  the  keen  and  wholesome  air  of 


THE    YOUTH    OF    CHRIST.  37 

penurv,  than  by  all  the  enervating  fumes  which  wealth  can 
furnish  through  luxury  and  lust.  The  history  of  true  great- 
ness exhibits  not  a  single  model  who  did  not  from  the  fust 
accustom  himself  to  drink  only  from  the  well  of  homely  life. 
Adversity,  in  exercising  her  power,  loses  her  most  offensive 
features,  and  develops  in  her  victims  their  best  strength. 
Said  William  Wallace  to  King  Edward  I.,  "  Thou  hast  raised 
me  among  men.  Without  thy  banners  and  cross-bows  in 
array  against  me,  I  had  sunk  in  utter  forgetfulness.  Thanks 
to  thee  for  placing  me,  eternally,  where  no  strength  of  mine 
could  otherwise  have  borne  me  !  Thanks  to  thee  for  bathing 
my  spirit  in  deep  thoughts,  in  refreshing  calm,  in  sacred  still- 
ness !  This,  O  king,  is  the  bath  for  knighthood  :  after  this  it 
may  feast,  and  hear  bold  and  sweet  voices,  and  mount  to  its 
repose."  The  best  energies  of  the  greatest  men  are  never 
fully  unfolded  within  and  without  except  by  the  ordeal  of 
severe  struggles  and  malignant  sufferings.  Almost  every 
champion  who  has  won  eminent  influence  among  his  fellows 
might  adopt  the  motto  of  Rousseau :  "  I  was  born  weak  ;  ill 
treatment  has  made  me  strong."  They  who  "  wander  in  the 
torrid  climes  of  fame,"  the  sons  of  beneficent  genius,  who  are 
born  to  elevate  the  existence  of  the  human  race,  must  in  the 
beginning  shed  many  bitter  sweat-drops,  and  give  vent  in  soli- 
tude to  many  tear-steeped  sighs.  It  is  thus  that  the  godlike 
is  ever  compelled  to  do  penance  for  superabundant  powers, 
and  pay,  with  exhausting  interest,  the  debt  which  he  owes  to 
suffering  humanity.  No  great  redeeming  spirit  appears  on 
earth  to  be  ministered  unto,  but  to  minister ;  it  is  his  highest 
prerogative  and  best  reward  to  serve,  to  elevate,  to  bless. 
All  wisdom  that  pertains  to  salvation  is  bought  with  labor  and 
pain,  and  he  who  pants  for  the  holiest  truth  and  the  highest 
power,  will  be  indulged  just  so  far  as  he  climbs  the  rugged 
heights  of  tribulation  with  delight. 

Lord  Bacon  compared  virtue,  or  true  manliness,  to  precious 
odors,  "  most  fragrant  when  they  are  incensed  or  crushed ; 
for  prosperity  doth  best  discover  vice,  but  adversity  doth  best 
4 


38  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

discover  virtue."  Here  is  a  high  truth ;  but  Jesus  came,  in 
the  circumstances  of  his  birth,  in  the  toils  and  deprivations  of 
his  youth,  to  teach  us  a  higher  and  a  better.  He  would  have 
us  no  longer  leave,  unperceived,  or,  if  known,  despised,  the 
numerous  examples  of  heroical  poverty,  which  lie  all  around, 
and  which  should  challenge  the  fostering  sympathy  of  all 
mankind.  Shrouded  in  obscurity  and  enduring  neglect,  still 
are  they  the  choicest  denizens  of  the  earth,  coming  here  to 
devote  their  lives  to  benevolence,  sacrificing  themselves  to 
duty  and  the  defence  of  justice  in  view  of  inevitable  persecu- 
tion, perhaps  of  prisons  or  the  rack.  O,  what  moral  grandeur 
in  such  examples  is  exemplified,  and  what  divine  lessons  do 
they  teach.  We  almost  hear  each  consecrated  votary  at  the 
shrine  of  Eternal  Righteousness  exclaim  from  the  depths  of 
his  soul,  "  Poverty  may  humble  my  lot,  but  it  shall  not  debase 
me ;  temptation  may  shake  my  nature,  but  not  the  rock  on 
which  thy  temple  is  based  ;  misfortune  may  wither  all  the 
hopes  that  blossomed  in  the  dewy  morning  of  my  life,  but  I 
will  offer  dead  leaves  when  the  flowers  are  no  more.  Though 
all  the  loved  objects  of  earth  perish,  all  that  I  have  coveted 
fade  away,  I  may  groan  under  my  burden,  but  I  will  never  be 
recreant  to  duty,  never  disloyal  to  thee,  O  my  God."  Such 
resignation,  suffering  supported  with  so  much  constancy,  was 
indeed  noble,  as  seen,  for  instance,  in  the  immolation  of  Soc- 
rates ;  but  how  much  more  sublime  in  the  youthful  struggles 
of  Jesus  Christ !  What  is  there  so  exalted  or  divine  "  as  a 
great  and  brave  spirit  working  Out  its  end  through  every 
earthly  obstacle  and  evil ;  watching  through  the  utter  dark- 
ness, and  steadily  defying  the  phantoms  which  crowd  around 
it ;  wrestling  with  the  mighty  allurements,  and  rejecting  the 
fearful  voice  of  that  Want  which  is  the  deadliest  and  surest  of 
human  tempters  ;  nursing  through  all  calamity  the  love  of  the 
species,  and  the  warmer  and  closer  affections  of  private  ties ; 
sacrificing  no  duty,  resisting  all  sin ;  and  amid  every  horror 
and  every  humiliation,  feeding  the  still  and  bright  light  of  that 
genius,  which,  like  the  lamp  of  the  fabulist,  though  it  may 


THE    YOUTH    OF    CHRIST.  39 

waste  itself  for  years  amidst  the  depths  of  solitude  and  the 
silence  of  the  tomb,  shall  live  and  burn  immortal  and  un- 
dimmed,  when  all  around  it  is  rottenness  and  decay  ?  "  But 
if  it  thrills  every  generous  fibre  of  our  nature  to  observe  a 
fellow-creature  thus  toiling  to  be  free  and  beneficent,  what 
shall  we  think  of  that  wonderful  Being  who  deigned  to  assume 
humanity's  woes,  and  struggle  up  from  childhood  through  the 
most  abject  trials,  that  from  the  throne  of  heaven  and  the 
thrones  of  earth  he  might  win  the  energies  of  almightiness  to 
redeem  mankind  !  It  is  indeed  strange  to  see  a  Savior  incar- 
nate in  a  manger,  and,  from  the  first  developments  of  youth, 
tied  with  base  entanglements  which,  through  all  subsequent 
life,  are  destined  to  grow  closer  and  closer,  till  death  sets  the 
inthralled  divinity  free.  But  the  sight  is  glorious  and  instruc- 
tive as  it  is  strange.  It  tells  us  that  effort  is  the  condition  of 
growth ;  that  he  who  came  to  be  a  matured  and  perfect  Re- 
deemer had  first  to  perform  the  appropriate  toils  of  a  youth- 
ful God. 

In  the  second  place,  the  sympathies  of  the  young  Messiah 
were  as  effectually  developed  by  the  stern  necessity  of  toil,  as 
were  the  other  elements  of  redeeming  strength.  Man's  destiny 
is  best  achieved,  and  his  most  valuable  fruit  produced,  through 
the  agency  of  suffering.  This  is  a  great  mystery,  and  would 
be  stranger  still,  did  we  not  see  the  fact  exemplified  in  the 
purest  man  "  that  e'er  wore  flesh  about  him,"  and  who,  in  all 
his  career  on  earth,  was  the  greatest  of  sufferers.  Standing 
on  the  shore  of  that  great  sea  of  agony  into  which  the  Deliv- 
erer plunged  to  rescue  a  perishing  race,  we  learn,  through  our 
own  limited  but  bitter  experience,  that  in  the  tumult  and  pres- 
sure of  the  profoundest  billows  of  dark  despair,  God  elaborated 
the  sympathetic  love,  and  gave  to  the  world  a  tortured  and 
bleeding  heart,  as  the  best  symbol  of  its  condition,  and  solace 
for  its  woe.  As  the  unfathomed  deep  which  unceasingly 
vibrates,  the  billows  which  forever  moan,  the  waterspouts 
which  fall  back  with  crashing  might  upon  the  tempest  that  gave 
them  birth,  the  lightnings  that  fringe  cloud  and  billow,  and  the 


40  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

thunders  which  shake  the  mighty  main,  may  all  be  necessary 
to  perfect  the  pearl  lying  in  the  obscurest  coral  depth,  —  so  are 
the  storms  of  life  designed  to  develop  in  their  gloom  bright 
gems  for  the  sunshine  of  heaven.     Pliny  tells  us  that  the  ring 
of  Pyrrhus  contained  a  jewel  which  had  the  figures  of  Apollo 
and  all  the  Muses  in  the  veins  of  it,  produced  by  the  sponta- 
neous hand  of  nature,  without  any  help  from  art.     The  youth 
of  Christ  was  adorned  with  fairer  features  than  any  that  belong 
to  the  loveliest  productions  of  earth,  but  they  were  unfolded 
amid  the  severest  exactions  of  sublunary  toil.     At  an  early  age 
he  was  given  up  to  the  powers  of  darkness,  to  the  end  that, 
tempered  in  suffering,  like  a  blade  of  steel  in  furnace  flames 
and  mountain  torrents,  he  might  become  an  irresistible  sword 
to  conquer  the  genius  of  evil  and  set  humanity  free.     It  was 
necessary  that  he  should  traverse  "  the  vacant  bosom's  wilder- 
ness," and  stand  worn  and  desolate  in  "  the  leafless  desert  of 
the  soul,"  that  he  might  sympathize  with  the  great  mass  of  our 
race,  who  are  born  in  that  condition,  and  in  it  are  compelled  to 
grow.     "If   misfortunes  could   be  remedied  by  tears,"  says 
Muretus,  "  tears  would  be  purchased  with    gold.     Misfortune 
does  not  call  for  tears,  but  counsel."     This  advice,  however, 
which  is  adapted  at  the  same  time  to  soothe  and  guide  effectu- 
ally, can  originate  only  in  a  tenderly-experienced  soul.     "  Few 
are  the  hearts  whence  one  same  touch  bids  the  sweet  fountain 
flow  ;  "  but  Christ  was  the  chief  of  such,  and  was  always  ready 
to  relieve  the  distressed,  because  from  his  tenderest  years  he 
had  experienced  their  direst  pangs.     In  every  respect  he  was 
a  model  of  moral  excellence,  possessing  superlative   worth  ; 
and  this  superiority  consisted  not  a  little  in  the  fact  that,  con- 
sidered in  his  human  qualities,  his  was  one  of  those 
"  Souls  that  carry  on  a  blest  exchange 
Of  joys  they  meet  with  in  their  heavenly  range, 
And,  with  a  fearless  confidence,  make  known 
The  sorrows  sympathy  esteems  its  own, 
Daily  desire  increasing  light  and  force 
From  such  communion  in  their  pleasant  course, 
Feel  less  their  journey's  roughness,  and  its  length, 
Meet  their  opposers  with  united  strength, 


THE   YOUTH   OF    CHRIST.  41 

And,  one  in  heart,  in  interest,  and  design, 
Give  up  each  other  in  the  race  divine." 

The  youthful  days  of  our  Savior  were  full  of  toil,  such  as  is 
common  to  mankind ;  and  this  toil  was  adapted  to  develop  his 
energies  for  the  coming  strife,  and  enlarge  his  sympathies  for 
the  suffering  of  every  class.  These  are  the  points  thus  far 
considered.  We  would  remark,  thirdly,  that  in  those  early 
scenes  of  bitter  experience,  his  aspirations  were  divine,  and 
doubtless  urged  him  with  profounder  ardor  to  break  the  fetters 
of  the  world.  The  Hebrew  nations  expected  a  Deliverer,  and 
Micah  had  foretold  that  the  promised  king  should  be  born  in 
Bethlehem,  the  very  place  where  the  house  of  David  had  its 
origin.  The  Messiah  appeared ;  but  the  lowly  circumstances 
of  his  birth  and  youth  were  in  striking  contrast  with  his  inhe- 
rent dignity,  and  the  glory  it  was  supposed  he  would  bring. 
That  he  should  make  his  advent  in  the  guise  of  a  carpenter's 
son,  and  accustom  himself  to  manual  toil,  instead  of  assuming 
at  once  the  splendors  of  worldly  dominion,  rendered  him,  to 
the  minions  of  priestly  and  regal  power,  the  object  of  loathing 
and  contempt.  We  must  remember  that  Christ  was  all  the 
while  conscious  of  this  ;  that,  in  the  face  of  the  upper  and  most 
oppressive  circles,  and  in  spite  of  their  rage,  he,  from  the  be- 
ginning, chose  to  identify  himself  with  the  lowest  rank  of  com- 
mon people,  share  their  burdens,  sympathize  with  their  sorrows, 
and  aspire  to  deliver  them  from  all  their  wrongs.  In  the  midst 
of  the  most  menial  pursuits,  he  fostered  the  sublimest  purposes 
of  soul ;  in  "  clear  dream  and  solemn  vision  "  he  contemplated 
the  auspicious  destinies  of  the  human  race,  and,  in  view  of 
what  his  own  almighty  hand  should,  at  the  proper  time,  per- 
form, labored  on  in  patient  thoughtfulness,  lifting  his  young 
brow  ever  and  anon  toward  heaven,  to  "  hail  the  coming  on  of 
time."  Let  the  youth,  whose  divine  aspirations  chafe  against 
the  chill  impediments  of  earthly  want  and  depressing  toil,  con- 
template the  history  of  the  great  pattern,  and  be  content  to 

"  Wait  for  the  dawning  of  a  brighter  day, 
And  snap  the  chain  the  moment  when  he  may." 
4# 


42  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

The  fallen  race  of  Adam  have  an  Advocate  who  ever  lives  to 
make  intercession  in  their  behalf;  one  who  was  thrust  out  from 
the  houses  of  the  rich  and  powerful  here  below,  that  he  might 
prepare  for  outcasts  mansions  of  glory  on  high ;  one  who 
graced  the  mechanic's  shop,  and  sweat  great  drops  of  agony 
on  the  barren  earth,  ere  he  broke  his  mighty  heart  on  the  cross, 
and  ascended  in  triumph  to  the  mediatorial  throne.  He  was 
humanity's  worker  before  he  was  humanity's  Savior.  His  ex- 
perience in  the  flesh  spread  out  his  sympathies  from  the  lowest 
to  the  highest,  prompted  him  to  break  down  all  hinderances  to 
personal  freedom,  and,  by  both  precept  and  example,  encour- 
aged pure  aspirations  in  every  breast.  There  is  vast  signifi- 
cance in  his  command,  "  Suffer  little  children  to  come  unto 
me,  and  forbid  them  not,  for  of  such  is  the  kingdom  of  heaven." 
Because  Christ  had  himself  been  a  child,  he  knew  to  what 
sublime  height  the  thoughts  of  children,  the  most  obscure, 
may  rise. 

So  abjectly  subject  to  sin  and  the  slavery  of  grovelling  hab- 
its is  man,  that  he  needs  some  one  who  has  not  partaken  of  the 
fall  to  stand  by  his  side  at  every  step,  and  with  divine  earnest- 
ness to  tell  him  how  much  he  is  yet  able  to  perform,  despite 
the  degradation  he  has  incurred.  The  world  of  youth  needs 
the  example  of  that  sinless  one,  whose  every  action  and  ap- 
pearance are  designed  to  disclose  how  that  we  should  put  forth 
all  the  divinity  of  deed,  of  attitude,  and  of  expression,  of 
which  our  immortal  nature  is  capable.  He  demonstrated  that 
all  fortune  can  be  conquered  by  bearing  it ;  and  no  more  valu- 
able lesson  can,  by  the  young,  be  learned.  Every  soul  has  its 
bright  visions,  as  well  as  its  sombre  ;  but,  unfortunately,  in  this 
uncongenial  world,  it  is  the  better  aspirations  that  we  are  least 
disposed  to  indulge.  "  The  vision  and  the  faculty  divine  "  is 
greatly  obscured,  because  its  exercise  is  but  little  encouraged 
by  our  associates.  Each  one  may  have  his  own  occasional 
gleams  of  exalted  things,  but  he  will  be  little  inclined  to  con- 
template the  revelations  made  to  others.  The  world  is  less 
disposed  to  recognize  our  sincerity,  when  delineating  the  gor- 


THE    YOUTH    OF    CHRIST.  43 

geous  heights  of  celestial  achievements  which,  in  meditation, 
we  have  seen,  than  when  detailing  those  loathsome  phantasies 
in  which  the  best  of  depraved  beings  sometimes  revel.  Thus 
the  frigid  multitude  without  forces  us  to  be  hypocrites,  when 
we  have  the  strongest  disposition  to  be  sincere  in  the  best  pur- 
suit, and  to  assume  a  supineness  and  meagreness  which  ill  cor- 
respond to  the  height,  and  depth,  and  lavish  variety,  of  the 
inner  man,  in  its  spontaneous  efforts  to  expand  and  soar.  But 
Jesus  most  acutely  experienced  "  the  Teachings  of  our  souls," 
and  made  provision  for  their  freest  and  widest  flight.  Impelled 
by  divinest  aspirations,  he  would  have  us  mount  to  the  starry 
gates  of  God's  dwelling  in  the  skies,  and  drink  into  our  panting 
souls,  with  unutterable  ravishment,  broad  and  clear  beamings 
of  his  mysterious  splendor,  and  then,  in  our  generous  warmth, 
he  would  have  us  hasten  to  distribute  among  our  brethren  the 
glad  and  sanctifying  beams  with  which  we  are  imbued.  If 
they  spurn  our  gift,  depreciate  its  value,  deny  even  its  existence, 
and  question  our  capacity  to  attain  views  so  blissful,  he  would 
not  have  us  chilled  into  despair  by  the  captiousness  we  incur, 
but  hold  on  our  way  in  patient  effort,  till  Omnipotence  comes 
to  crown  with  success  our  beneficent  design. 

Says  Neander,  "  There  was  peculiar  fitness  in  Christ's  being 
born  among  the  Jewish  people.  His  life  revealed  the  kingdom 
of  God,  which  was  to  be  set  up  over  all  men ;  and  it  properly 
commenced  in  a  nation  whose  political  life,  always  developed 
in  a  theocratic  form,  was  the  continued  type  of  that  kingdom. 
He  was  the  culminating  point  of  this  development ;  in  him 
the  kingdom  of  God,  no  longer  limited  to  this  single  people, 
was  to  show  its  true  design,  and,  unfettered  by  physical  or 
national  restraints,  to  assert  its  authority  over  the  whole  human 
race.  The  particular  typifies  the  universal ;  the  earthly  the 
celestial.  So  David,  the  monarch  who  had  raised  the  political 
theocracy  of  Jesus  to  the  pinnacle  of  glory,  typified  that  greater 
Monarch,  in  whom  the  kingdom  of  God  was  to  display  its  glory. 
Not  without  reason,  therefore,  was  it  that  Christ,  the  summit 
of  the  theocracy,  sprang  from  the  fallen  line  of  royal  David." 


44  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

And  yet,  what  is  remarkable  in  the  youth  of  Christ,  he  never 
fortified  his  claims  to  popular  regard  by  allusions  to  an  illus- 
trious ancestry,  and  his  origin  from  royal  blood.  On  the 
contrary,  he  avoided  courting  the  favor  of  the  worldly  great, 
refused  to  meddle  with  every  thing  connected  with  oppressive 
sovereignty,  and  preferred  the  humblest  position  among  the 
masses,  at  once  their  symbol,  their  champion,  and  friend.  The 
beautiful  spirit  of  young  Christ,  rising  from  the  people  and 
shining  on  them  all, 

"  Looked  down  on  earth.' s  distinctions,  high  and  low, 
Sunken  or  soaring,  as  the  equal  sun 
Sheds  light  along  the  vale  and  mountain's  brow." 

Great  and  beneficent  souls  always  rise  from  the  general 
mass  and  belong  to  it.  They  spring  from  the  industrious  ranks, 
diffuse  the  principles  of  equality,  bind  the  great  elements  of 
society  together,  and  ennoble  them.  They  inspire  fresh 
thoughts,  execute  generous  deeds,  and  transmit  the  grandest 
influence  to  the  end  of  time.  Such,  in  a  preeminent  degree, 
was  the  case  with  the  "child  Jesus."  Though  he  was  in 
character  divine  and  of  exalted  birth,  he  claimed  no  immunities 
on  account  of  these  considerations,  but,  from  the  lowest  grade 
of  rational  existence,  dared  to  aspire  to  the  highest,  and  win 
the  most  glorious  attitude  by  his  own  sufferings  and  toil.  He 
was  not  educated  in  a  learned  school,  nor  sustained  by  any 
favorable  combination  of  clique  and  circumstance.  "  He  was 
obliged  to  contend  with  poverty,  lowness,  and  contempt,  and 
was  surrounded  with  obstacles,  difficulties,  and  dangers,  which 
seemed  invincible.  In  his  obscure  and  helpless  condition, 
however,  we  find  him  capable  of  forming  a  plan  for  the  good 
of  all  nations,  and  cherishing  a  thought  which  lay  beyond  the 
reach  of  human  intellect,  though  possessed  of  the  greatest 
powers,  and  exercised  under  the  most  favorable  circumstances. 
We  find  him  capable  of  making  a  bold  effort  to  carry  it  into 
execution,  and  indulging  a  hope  that  all  would  be  accom- 
plished, never  firmer  than  in  the  moment  when  to  human  view 
all  was  lost ;  when  he  was  forsaken  by  his  intimate  friends, 


THE    YOUTH    OF    CHRIST.  45 

opposed  and  even  put  to  death  by  his  nation.  What  conclu- 
sion must  we  draw  from  a  phenomenon  so  distinct  in  its  kind  ? 
Shall  we  not  be  justified  in  considering  him  the  most  exalted 
sage,  the  greatest  benefactor  of  mankind,  a  most  credible  mes- 
senger of  the  Godhead  ?  "  • 

The  aspirations  of  our  Lord  in  his  early  youth,  their  intensity 
and  lofty  aim,  are  indicated  by  the  circumstances  of  a  well- 
known  event,  concerning  which  the  profoundest  of  modern 
commentators  remarks  as  follows  :  — 

"  Of  the  early  history  of  Jesus  we  have  only  a  single  inci- 
dent ;  but  that  incident  strikingly  illustrates  the  manner  in 
which  the  consciousness  of  his  divine  nature  developed  itself 
in  the  mind  of  the  child.  Jesus  had  attained  his  twelfth  year, 
a  period  which  was  regarded  among  the  Jews  as  the  dividing 
line  between  childhood  and  youth,  and  at  which  regular  reli- 
gious instruction  and  the  study  of  the  law  were  generally  en- 
tered upon.  For  that  reason,  his  parents,  who  were  accus- 
tomed to  visit  Jerusalem  annually  at  the  time  of  the  Passover, 
took  him  with  them  for  the  first  time.  When  the  feast  was 
over,  and  they  were  setting  out  on  their  return,  they  missed 
their  son.  This,  however,  does  not  seem  to  have  alarmed 
them,  and  perhaps  he  was  accustomed  to  remain  with  certain 
kindred  families  or  friends.  Indeed,  we  are  told  (Luke  ii.  44) 
that  they  expected  to  find  him  '  in  the  company,'  at  the  even- 
ing halt  of  the  caravan.  Disappointed  in  this  expectation,  they 
returned  the  next  morning  to  Jerusalem,  and,  on  the  following 
day,  found  him  in  the  synagogue  of  the  temple,  among  the 
priests,  who  had  been  led  by  his  questions  into  a  conversation 
on  points  of  faith.  His  parents  reproached  him  for  the  unea- 
siness he  had  caused  them,  and  he  replied,  l  Why  did  you 
seek  me  ?  Did  you  not  know  that  I  must  be  about  my  Father'' s 
business  ?  '  Now,  these  words  of  Jesus  contain  no  explanation, 
beyond  his  tender  years,  of  the  relations  which  he  sustained  to 
the  Father;  they  manifest  simply  the  consciousness  of  a  child, 
—  a  depth,  to  be  sure,  but  yet  only  a  depth  of  presentiment. 

"  We  can  draw  various  important  inferences  from  this  inci- 


46  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

dent  in  the  early  life  of  Christ.  At  a  tender  age  he  studied 
the  Old  Testament,  and  obtained  a  better  knowledge  of  its 
religious  value  by  the  light  that  was  within  him  than  any  human 
instruction  could  have  imparted.  Nor  was  this  beaming  forth 
of  an  immediate  consciousness  of  divine  things  in  the  mind  of 
the  child,  in  advance  of  the  development  of  his  powers  of  dis- 
cursive reason,  at  all  alien  to  the  character  and  progress  of 
human  nature,  but  entirely  in  harmony  with  it.  Nor  need  we 
wonder  that  the  infinite  riches  of  the  hidden  spiritual  life  of  the 
child  first  manifested  themselves  to  his  consciousness,  as  if 
suggested  by  his  conversation  with  the  doctors,  and  that  his 
direct  intuitions  of  divine  truth,  the  flashes  of  spiritual  light 
that  emanated  from  him,  amazed  the  masters  in  Israel.  It  not 
unfrequently  happens,  in  our  human  life,  that  the  questions  of 
others  are  thus  suggestive  to  great  minds,  and,  like  steel  upon 
the  flint,  draw  forth  their  inner  light,  at  the  same  time  revealing 
to  their  own  souls  the  unknown  treasures  that  lay  in  their  hid- 
den depths.  But  they  give  more  than  they  receive ;  the  out- 
ward suggestion  only  excites  to  action  their  creative  energy ; 
and  men  of  reflective  and  receptive,  rather  than  creative, 
minds,  by  inciting  the  latter  to  know  and  develop  their  vast 
resources,  may  not  only  learn  much  from  their  utterance,  but 
also  diffuse  the  streams  which  gush  with  overflowing  fulness 
from  these  abundant  well-springs.  And  these  remarks,  apply- 
ing—  in  a  sense  in  which  they  apply  to  no  other — to  that 
mind,  lofty  beyond  all  human  comparison,  whose  creative 
thoughts  are  to  fertilize  the  spiritual  life  of  man  through  all 
ages,  and  whose  creative  power  sprang  from  its  mysterious 
union  with  that  Divine  Word  which  gave  birth  to  all  things, 
show  us  that  his  consciousness  developed  itself  gradually,  and 
in  perfect  accordance  with  the  laws  of  human  life,  from  that 
mysterious  union  which  formed  its  ground. 

"  And  further,  without  in  the  least  attempting  to  do  away 
with  the  peculiar  form  of  the  cliilcVs  spiritual  life,  we  can 
recognize  in  this  incident  a  dawning  sense  of  his  divine  mis- 
sion in  the  mind  of  Jesus ;  a  sense,  however,  not  yet  unfolded 


THE    YOUTH    OF    CHRIST.  47 

in  the  form  in  which  the  corruption  of  the  world,  objectively- 
presented,  alone  could  occasion  its  development.  The  child 
found  congenial  occupation  in  the  things  of  God  ;  in  the  Temple 
he  was  at  home.  And,  on  the  other  hand,  we  see  an  opening 
consciousness  of  the  peculiar  relation  in  which  he  stood  to  the 
Father  as  the  Son  of  God.  We  delight  to  find,  in  the  early- 
lives  of  eminent  men,  some  glimpses  of  the  future,  some  indi- 
cations of  their  after  greatness  ;  so  we  gladly  recognize,  in  the 
pregnant  words  of  the  child,  a  foreshadowing  of  what  is  after- 
wards so  fully  revealed  to  us  in  the  discourses  of  the  com- 
pletely-manifested Christ,  especially  as  they  are  given  to  us  in 
John's  Gospel." 

The  history  of  rising  worth  has  nothing  to  compare  with  that 
temple  scene.  A  youth  appears  "  sitting  in  the  midst  of  the 
doctors,  both  hearing  them  and  asking  them  questions.  And 
all  that  heard  him  were  astonished  at  his  understanding  and 
answers."  He  comes  into  the  assembly  of  venerable  sages 
with  a  mild  and  pensive  countenance,  that  seems  haunted  with 
earnest  thought.  He  is  no  favorite  of  earthly  fortune,  no  scion 
of  aristocratic  pride,  no  pet  of  exclusive  schools,  but  the  sim- 
ple child  of  the  unsophisticated  people,  steeped  to  the  lips  in 
suffering  ;  and  yet,  mightier  than  the  domes  that  bend  above 
him,  he  is  for  the  intellect  and  heart  of  man  a  glorious  living 
temple,  built  with  the  choicest  riches  of  unnumbered  worlds. 
The  first  question  he  propounds  startles  the  attention  of  all  who 
hear  him,  and  creates  the  greatest  astonishment  in  the  most 
profound  ;  for  his  words  bear  that  charm  of  immaculate  wis- 
dom which  can  neither  be  defaced  nor  excelled.  Question 
succeeds  to  question,  and  learning,  in  despair,  grows  more  and 
more  confused,  in  this,  the  grandest  gladiatorship  of  mind  yet 
witnessed  on  earth.  Sage  after  sage,  swelling  with  wounded 
pride,  is  silenced  before  that  youth  apparelled  in  the  plain  attire 
of  peasant  life,  radiant  with  the  celestial  light  that  emanates 
from  an  aspiring  heart,  and  bent  on  throwing  wide  open  the 
gates  of  instruction  to  all.  The  whole  park  of  artillery  which 
power  and  craft  have  erected  on  their  contracted  citadels  he 


48  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

has  spiked,  and,  like  "  a  mailed  angel  on  a  battle  day,"  he 
rejoices  in  his  triumph,  not  for  himself,  but  for  the  sake  of  the 
benighted  multitudes  around.  Free  thought  and  free  discus- 
sion then  and  there  were  born  ! 


CHAPTER    III. 

THE    MANHOOD    OF    CHRIST. 

IN   MATURITY,  TRAINED   BY  SUFFERINGS   SUCH  AS  MANKIND   IN   GENERAL 
ARE  DOOMED   TO   ENDURE. 

It  is  important  that  we  keep  constantly  in  view  the  rela- 
tion which  the  progressive  development  of  Christ's  manhood 
bore  to  the  complete  accomplishment  of  his  divine  mission, 
The  years  of  his  life  which  were  most  veiled  in  obscurity  were 
full  of  preparatory  discipline,  wisely  adapted  to  the  sublimest 
ends.     The  lowly  circumstances  of  his  infancy,  the  severe  toils 
of  his  youth,  and  the  varied  experience  of  his  early  manhood, 
were    doubtless  designed  gradually  to   awaken  the  full  con- 
sciousness of  that  divine  call,  and  fortify  him  with  that  perfect 
mastery  over  adverse  powers,  which  he  displayed  on  entering 
upon  his  public  life.     From  an  infinite  diversity  of  sources 
sublunary  and  celestial,  Jesus  imbibed  energies  of  every  kind 
which,  with  irresistible  concentrativeness,  were  at  length  em< 
ployed  to  redeem  and   renovate   the  world.      To  the  silent 
solitary  preparation  which  transpired  in  the  life  of  Christ  be 
tween  the  ages  of  twelve  and  thirty,  let  us  now  attend. 

In  examining  this  period  of  transition  from  youthful  conse- 
cration to  perpetual  struggle  and  triumphant  sacrifice,  we  shall 
find  that  our  Redeemer  experienced  much  of  social  oppression, 
personal  self-reliance,  and  the  seductions  of  power. 

In  the  first  place,  Jesus  Christ  experienced  much  of  the 


THE    MANHOOD    OF    CHRIST.  49 

bitterness  produced  by  social  oppression.  Suffering  humanity- 
drank  from  no  cup  and  experienced  no  wrongs  in  which  he 
did  not  participate.  He  was  in  all  points  tempted  like  as  we 
are,  yet  sinless.  He  knew  no  actual  participation  of  depravity ; 
but,  as  he  rose  from  the  lowest  vale  of  human  existence,  and 
pressed  through  every  barrier  that  sin  has  raised,  he  learned 
how  to  sympathize  with  a  fallen  race  in  every  pang  they 
endured.  This  was  essential  to  the  full  development  of  the 
Messianic  character,  and  the  perfect  discharge  of  the  work  he 
came  to  perform.  He  entered  upon  various  human  relation- 
ships, mingled  intimately  with  human  beings  of  every  class,  and 
witnessed  human  wretchedness  of  every  degree.  That  which 
he  saw,  felt,  and  wept  over,  made  profound  impressions  on  his 
mighty  heart,  and  nerved  him,  amid  the  tempest  of  vicarious 
woe,  to  win  peace  for  mankind. 

Jesus,  in  common  with  nearly  all  who  are  born  to  elevate 
and  bless  the  world,  was  disparaged  by  those  who  had  the  best 
evidences  of  his  worth,  and  found  least  encouragement  from 
the  kindred  to  whom  he  was  most  closely  allied.  Various  state- 
ments of  the  evangelists  inform  us  that  Christ  had  younger 
brothers  and  sisters.  For  instance,  they  who  witnessed  the 
first  marvels  of  his  career  said,  "  Is  not  this  the  carpenter,  the 
son  of  Mary,  the  brother  of  James,  and  Joses,  and  Simon,  and 
Juda  ?  and  are  not  his  sisters  here  with  us  ?  "  A  distinguished 
critic  observes, — 

"  It  is  worthy  of  note  that  Mark  and  John  agree  in  stating 
that  these  brothers  of  the  Savior  remained  unbelievers  during 
his  stay  on  earth  —  a  fact  which  illustrates  the  truthfulness  of  the 
history,  since  it  by  no  means  tended  to  glorify  either  Christ  or 
his  brothers,  one  of  whom,  at  least,  (James,)  was  in  high  re- 
pute among  the  Jewish  Christians.  It  is  not  to  be  wondered 
at  that  the  prophet  was  without  honor  among  those  who  dwelt 
under  the  same  roof,  and  saw  him  grow  up  under  the  same 
laws  of  ordinary  human  nature  with  themselves.  True,  this 
daily  contact  afforded  them  many  opportunities  of  beholding 
the  Divinity  that  streamed  through  the  veil  of  his  flesh ;  yet  it 
5 


50  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

required  a  spiritual  mind  and  a  lively  faith  to  recognize  the 
revealed  Son  of  God  in  the  lowly  garb  of  humanity.  The 
impression  of  humanity  made  upon  their  senses  day  after  day, 
and  thus  grown  into  a  habit,  could  not  be  made  to  yield  to  the 
divine  manifestations,  unless  in  longer  time  than  was  required 
for  others  ;  but  when  it  did  yield,  and,  after  such  long-continued 
opposition,  they  acknowledged  their  brother  as  the  Son  of  God 
and  the  Messiah,  they  only  became  thereby  the  more  trust- 
worthy witnesses." 

The  whole  life  of  Christ  on  earth  was  tragical  in  the  highest 
degree ;  the  portions  which  were  most  obscure,  not  less  so 
than  the  scenes  on  Calvary  and  Olivet.  Think  of  the  desolate- 
ness  of  that  preparatory  state,  wherein  his  own  kindred  dis- 
carded his  claims,  and  oppressed  him  with  all  the  chilling 
weight  of  undisguised  distrust.  Nothing  is  sublimer  in  the 
history  of  mind  than  the  lonely  struggles  which  precede  and 
generate  success.  Every  predestined  hero  will  have  to  de- 
monstrate his  superior  worth  by  encountering  and  overcoming 
the  most  undeserved  obstructions.  Long  before  an  effective 
foothold  is  attained,  he  will  have  suffered  most  from  unex- 
pected quarters,  and  been  more  aroused  by  neglect  than  by 
timely  aid.  Misfortune  is  a  fire  that  melts  weak  hearts,  but 
renders  the  firm  purer  and  stronger.  How  many  of  the  best 
of  our  race  can  recognize  their  model  and  consolation  in  the 
unfriended  youth  of  Nazareth !  Let  the  young  man  compelled 
to  struggle  with  that  sorest  destiny,  relatives  who  foster  not 
but  rather  congeal  his  warmest  hopes,  take  heart  from  the 
experience  of  his  Lord,  homeless  and  brotherless  among  his 
own  kindred,  but  yet  on  his  way  to  the  conquest  of  popular 
prejudice,  the  redemption  of  degraded  humanity,  and  the  pos- 
session of  power  the  most  comprehensive  and  supreme. 

How  merciful  was  God  to  the  best  desires  of  the  best  hearts, 
to  portray  before  the  world  the  discipline  of  toil  and  neglect 
which  his  beloved  Son  endured  !  Alas  for  the  nobly  aspiring, 
if  they  derive  not  more  solace  from  this  heavenly  example 
than  can  be  found  in  the  selfishness  of  earth  !     In  every  age, 


THE    MANHOOD    OF    CHRIST.  51 

oppressive  sceptres  and  galling  chains  have  been  broken  by- 
youthful  hands  nerved  by  wrongs,  "  as  the  rock  shivers  in  the 
thunder  stroke;"  and  in  almost  every  instance  these  saviors, 
like  their  great  Pattern,  have  been  inured  for  the  strife  by  the 
contempt  or  envy  which  at  the  outset  they  incurred.  They 
arose  in  the  field  or  shop,  panting  to  be  useful,  and  demanding 
only  the  patronage  of  good  will  and  a  fair  opportunity  to  ex- 
ercise their  gifts.  Some  have  contemptuously  glanced  at  the 
lowly  condition  of  such,  saying,  "  Can  any  good  thing  come 
out  of  sources  so  obscure  ?  "  and  have  done  what  they  could  to 
depress  the  native  talents  with  which  they  are  too  ignoble  to 
sympathize.  But  when  the  wealthy  and  powerful  of  earth 
discard  all  claims  on  their  regard  proffered  by  the  indigent 
candidate  for  usefulness  and  the  highest  fame,  how  sweet  to 
turn  to  Christ  for  sympathy  and  support !  How  easy  of  access 
is  he  !  How  grateful  to  walk  with  him  in  the  dusty  path  of  hard 
endeavor,  and  spread  before  his  generous  heart  our  own 
benevolent  and  comprehensive  schemes,  when  all  others  are 
distant  and  deaf — him,  my  fellow-mechanic,  brother  sufferer, 
kindred  student,  friend,  teacher,  God! 

At  an  early  day,  the  great  Deliverer  began  to  look  out  from 
the  centre  of  his  own  domestic  circle  through  all  the  ramifica- 
tions of  the  human  race,  and  saw  that  injustice  and  oppression 
every  where  prevailed.  His  keen  experience  of  this  set  in 
operation  his  superhuman  energies  to  defend  the  feeble  and 
demolish  the  strong.  He  won  a  mastership  over  injustice  even 
while  suffering  it,  and  through  the  paths  of  distress  ascended 
to  the  highest  triumphs  and  the  best  repose.  Hence  he  ex- 
claimed to  those  who  would  tread  in  his  footsteps  and  emulate 
his  deeds,  "  In  the  world  ye  will  be  oppressed ;  but  be  of  good 
courage,  I  have  conquered  the  world."  In  a  manner  full  of 
light  and  encouragement,  he  has  taught  the  champions  of 
righteousness  that  it  is  their  doom  and  reward  to  endure  much 
that  is  oppressive,  in  order  that  they  may  the  better  know  how 
to  appreciate  the  invulnerable  nature  within  man,  which  may 
be  abused  but  cannot  be  destroyed.      Providence  has  armed 


52  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

the  mind  with  a  quality  which  lies  at  the  foundation  of  many 
excellences,  and  supports  them  all.  This  is  fortitude  which, 
by  throwing  a  spirit  of  graceful  endurance  into  every  mental 
energy,  gives  beauty  to  grandeur,  and  tranquillity  to  zeal. 
Much  is  this  quality  needed,  since 

"  In  this  wild  world  the  fondest  and  the  best 
Are  the  most  tried,  most  troubled,  and  distressed." 

In  addition  to  the  bestowal  of  fortitude  as  a  prime  element 
of  the  soul,  there  is  a  fact  connected  with  its  exercise  which 
claims  our  gratitude.  It  is,  that  when  the  victim  has  endured 
his  appointed  suffering  with  unflinching  heroism,  and  when 
vanquished  fortune  is  compelled  herself  to  admire,  he  is 
always  the  admiration  of  the  world,  as  well  as  its  greatest 
benefit.  There  is  a  potency  in  the  daring  heart  of  the  resolute, 
to  which  even  destiny  must  yield.  Let  us  remember  that,  as 
the  most  beautiful  roses  bloom  in  dreary  Lapland,  as  the  richest 
diamonds  are  found  on  the  stormiest  coasts,  and  as  porphyry 
hardens  the  more  it  is  exposed  to  the  elements,  so  the  best 
virtues  of  the  soul  are  generally  disciplined  by  the  sternest 
trials. 

This  truth  has  been  felt  and  enforced  by  all  who  have  ex- 
celled in  every  age.  Zeno  taught  it  in  the  severe  philosophy 
of  the  Porch ;  and  the  artist  who  gave  to  fame  the  wonderful 
group  of  Laocoon  felt  this  sentiment  deeply,  as  he  sculptured 
colossal  agony  in  marble,  and  transmitted  to  succeeding  gener- 
ations that  sublime  representation  of  an  heroical  spirit  struggling 
in  the  serpent-coils  that  would  cripple  his  benevolence,  and  yet 
not  altogether  overcome  by  his  pangs.  The  great  father  of 
tragedy  imbodied  this  idea  in  his  masterpiece,  when,  in  Pro- 
metheus bound,  he  demonstrated  that  neither  the  shaking  earth, 
nor  the  rending  heavens,  a  bed  of  rock  without,  nor  vulture 
fangs  within,  could  cause  regret  for  good  deeds  already  done, 
or  terror  in  view  of  evil  yet  to  be  inflicted.  Filled  with  for- 
titude based  on  conscious  merit,  the  torn  victim,  even  amid  his 
most  cruel  tortures,  would  not  stoop  so  low  as  to  be  envious 


THE    MANHOOD    OF    CHRIST.  53 

towards  the  dishonorable  prosperity  of  Mercury,  his  tyrannical 
foe.  Although  so  borne  down  with  sufferings  that  naked  ex- 
istence, alone  remained  to  him,  still  the  sweets  of  benevolence 
and  the  balm  of  heavenly  courage  flow  in  each  pulsation  of  the 
throbbing  heart  through  all  the  avenues  of  tortured  life.  Marius, 
seated  among  the  ruins  of  Carthage,  was  the  impersonation  of 
heroical  endurance,  and  a  striking  exemplification  of  this  in- 
herent power  of  the  manly  mind.  The  shattered  and  pros- 
trate city  was  a  type  of  the  fallen  fortunes  of  the  conqueror ; 
but  the  contrast  between  the  soul  unbent,  the  hero  undaunted, 
and  the  surrounding  mass  of  ruins,  presents  in  a  striking  aspect 
that  element  of  indomitable  power  which  forever  glows  in  the 
brave  of  soul.  But  Christ  came,  the  mighty  architect  of  all 
things  majestic  and  fair,  to  reconstruct  with  pristine  glory  a 
world  far  gone  in  moral  decay.  His  object  was  not  only  to 
suffer  in  our  stead,  but  to  teach  us  by  example  how  superior  to 
suffering  mind  can  be  made.  Every  event  of  his  life,  and 
every  phase  of  his  sorrow,  inward  struggles  and  outward  ob- 
structions, are  full  of  meaning  for  us,  and  for  all  persons  who 
have  sensibilities  to  be  crushed  or  hardships  to  endure.  Es- 
pecially should  they  who  have  to  do  with  the  young  and  the 
unfortunate  recognize  the  latent  germs  of  worth  and  capacity 
which  the  Almighty  has  deposited  in  every  human  soul.  This 
was  what  Christ  was  most  prompt  to  do,  the  mighty  achieve- 
ment which  he  alone  could  effectually  perform.  At  the  mo- 
ment when  all  the  earth  groaned  with  longings  for  deliverance, 
a  voice  arose  in  Judea,  the  voice  of  Him  who  came  to  suffer 
and  to  die  for  his  brethren,  proclaiming  the  dawn  of  freedom 
for  every  land,  solace  for  every  woe.  This  was  the  capenter's 
son,  poor,  persecuted,  forsaken,  who  cried  to  the  multitudes 
crushed  beneath  the  burdens  of  depravity  and  toil,  "  Come 
unto  me,  all  ye  that  labor  and  are  heavy  laden,  and  I  will  give 
you  rest."  To  heal  the  evils  which  afflict  our  race,  he  assumed 
their  condition,  on  their  behalf  met  every  claim  of  infinite  jus- 
tice, and  opened  the  fountains  of  redemption  and  charity  freely 
to  all  mankind. 

5* 


54  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

Men  every  where  became  manageable  under  the  eye  and 
the  moulding  hand  of  Christ,  because,  in  addition  to  the 
native  divinity  of  his  character,  the  depth  and  variety  of  his 
human  experience  enabled  him  to  get  close  to  them  —  closely 
in  contact  with  their  inmost  selves.  He  did  not  spin  about  him 
an  impervious  web  of  conventional  prejudices  and  feelings, 
which  protected  his  tender  soul  from  the  touch  of  ordinary 
bystanders.  The  beings  and  vicissitudes  with  which  he  came 
in  contact  day  by  day  and  hour  by  hour,  touched  the  inner- 
most and  tenderest  fibres  of  his  being.  He  thus  learned  to 
sway  the  masses,  because  he  could  draw  them  with  the  cords 
of  a  man.  The  winding  passages  to  the  human  heart  he  had 
critically  scanned,  and  all  its  trembling  sensibilities  he  had  felt ; 
hence,  through  the  outer  sanctuary,  into  the  very  presence  of 
the  most  hidden  spirit,  he  could  advance  at  once,  holding  the 
object  of  his  mercy  spell-bound  by  his  tones  and  the  first 
glance  of  his  eye,  because  that  eye  moistened  with  sympathy 
for  the  suffering,  and  there  were  tears  in  his  voice  which  no 
degree  of  obduracy  could  resist.  But  what  was  the  educa- 
tional process  preparatory  to  a  mission  so  divine  ?  How  were 
results  so  grand  and  beneficent  attained  ? 

This  leads  us  to  remark  that  Jesus  experienced  much  of 
personal  self-reliance.  His  education  was  not  professional,  but 
personal ;  it  was  self-development,  in  the  most  free  and  un- 
limited degree.  Neander  has  profoundly  explored  this  topic, 
and  on  it  remarks,  — 

"  We  have  already  seen  that  in  the  early  progress  of  the 
mind  of  Christ  every  thing  was  original  and  direct,  and  that 
external  occasions  were  needed  only  to  bring  out  his  inward 
activity.  As  we  must  suppose  that  his  development  was  sub- 
sequently continued  in  the  same  way,  we  come  at  once  to  the 
conclusion  that  his  education  for  a  teacher  was  not  due  to  any 
of  the  theological  schools  then  existing  in  Judea.  But  we  can 
reach  this  conclusion  only  by  comparing  the  peculiar  tenden- 
cies of  those  schools  with  the  aims  of  Christ,  with  his  mode 
of  life  and  instruction,  and  with  the  spirit  which  he  diffused 


THE    MANHOOD    OF    CHRIST.  55 

around  him.  In  the  outset,  how  unlike  Christ  was  the  legal 
spirit  of  Pharisaism,  with  its  soul-crushing  statutes,  its  dead 
theology  of  the  letter,  and  its  barren  subtilties !  Some  few  of 
the  sect,  endowed  with  a  more  earnest  religious  sense,  and  a 
more  sincere  love  of  truth  than  their  fellows,  could  not  resist 
the  impression  of  Christ's  divine  manifestation ;  but  they  came 
to  him  with  a  full  knowledge  of  the  difference  between  his 
mode  of  teaching  and  theirs,  and  not  as  to  a  teacher  sprung 
from  among  themselves.  They  had  first  to  overcome  their 
surprise  at  his  strange  and  extraordinary  language,  before  they 
could  enter  into  closer  connection  with  him.  They  had  to 
renounce  the  wisdom  of  their  schools,  to  disclaim  their  legal 
righteousness,  and  to  attach  themselves  to  Christ  with  the  same 
sense  of  deficiency  in  themselves,  and  with  the  same  desire  for 
what  he  alone  could  impart,  as  all  other  men. 

"  The  spirit  of  the  Sadducees  presents  a  still  more  rugged 
contrast  to  the  spirit  of  Christ.  Their  schools  agreed  in  noth- 
ing but  denying ;  their  only  bond  of  union  was  opposition  to 
the  Pharisees,  against  whom  they  strove  to  reestablish  the 
original  Hebraism,  freed  from  the  foreign  elements  which  the 
Pharisaic  statutes  had  mixed  up  with  it.  But  an  agreement 
in  negation  can  be  only  an  apparent  one,  if  the  negation  rests 
upon  an  opposite  positive  principle.  Thus  certain  negative 
doctrines,  that  agree  with  Protestantism  in  rejecting  the  au- 
thority and  traditions  of  the  Romish  church,  separate  them- 
selves farther  from  Protestantism  than  the  Romish  doctrine 
itself,  by  the  affirmative  principle  on  which  they  rest  their 
denial,  and  by  carrying  that  denial  too  far.  The  single  posi- 
tive principle  of  Sadduceeism  was  the  one-sided  prominence 
given  by  them  to  morality,  which  they  separated  from  its 
necessary  inward  union  with  religion.  But  Christ's  combat 
with  the  Pharisees  arose  out  of  the  fullest  interpenetration  of 
the  moral  and  religious  elements.  The  Sadducees  wished  to 
cut  off  the  progressive  development  of  Hebraism  at  an  arbi- 
trary point.  They  refused  to  recognize  the  growing  conscious- 
ness of  God,  which,  derived  from  the  Mosaic  institute,  formed 


56  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

a  substantial  feature  of  Judaism,  and  hence  could  not  compre- 
hend the  higher  religious  element  from  which,  as  a  germ,  un- 
der successive  divine  revelations,  the  spiritual  life  of  Judaism 
was  to  be  gradually  developed.  Rejecting  all  such  growth  as 
foreign  and  false,  they  held  a  subordinate  and  isolated  point  to 
be  absolute  and  perpetual ;  adhering  to  the  letter  rather  than 
the  spirit.  To  the  forced  allegorizing  of  the  Pharisees  in 
interpreting  the  Scripture  they  opposed  a  slavishly  literal  and 
narrow  exegesis.  But  Christ,  on  the  other  hand,  while  he 
rejected  the  Pharisaic  traditions,  received  into  his  doctrine  all 
the  riches  of  divine  knowledge  which  the  progressive  growth 
of  Theism,  up  to  the  time  of  John  the  Baptist,  had  brought 
forth.  His  agreement,  then,  with  the  Sadducees,  consisting, 
as  it  did,  solely  in  opposition  to  Pharisaism,  was  merely  nega- 
tive and  apparent. 

"  Had  the  source  of  Christ's  mighty  power  been  merely  a 
doctrine,  it  might  have  been  received,  or  at  least  suggested, 
from  abroad.  But  his  power  lay  in  the  impression  which  his 
manifestation  and  life  as  the  Incarnate  God  produced  ;  and  this 
could  never  have  been  derived  from  without.  The  peculiar 
import  of  his  doctrine,  as  such,  consists  in  its  relation  to  him- 
self as  a  part  of  his  self-revelation,  and  image  of  his  unorigi- 
nated  and  inherent  life  ;  and  this  alone  suffices  to  defy  all 
attempts  at  external  explanation.  Had  Jesus  been  trained  in 
the  Jewish  seminaries,  his  opponents  would,  doubtless,  have 
reproached  him  with  the  arrogance  of  setting  up  for  master 
where  he  himself  had  been  a  pupil.  But,  on  the  contrary, 
we  find  that  they  censured  him  for  attempting  to  explain  the 
Scriptures  without  having  enjoyed  the  advantages  of  the 
schools,  (John  7 :  15.)  His  first  appearance  as  a  teacher  in 
the  synagogue  at  Nazareth  carried  even  greater  surprise,  as 
he  was  known  there,  not  as  one  learned  in  the  law,  but  rather 
as  a  carpenter's  son,  who  had,  perhaps,  himself  worked  at  his 
father's  trade.  The  general  impression  of  his  discourses  every 
where  was,  that  they  contained  totally  different  materials  from 
those  furnished  by  the  theological  schools.     (Matt.  7  :  29.)" 


THE    MANHOOD   OF   CHRIST.  57 

One  of  the  most  striking  features  of  Christ's  education  was 
the  purity,  strength,  and  copiousness  of  his  affections.  From 
the  aristocracies  of  the  age,  in  both  church  and  state,  he  was 
isolated  and  contradistinguished  ;  but  to  his  sisters,  to  children, 
and  to  all  spirits  not  dwarfed  by  bigotry  and  degraded  by  pas- 
sion, he  was  ever  closely  allied.  He  first  breathed  on  the 
breast  of  a  virgin,  and  perpetually  grew  in  intimate  contact 
with  the  great  heart  of  humanity,  throbbing  in  the  bosom  of 
unsophisticated  life.  He  came  to  uprear  love's  standard  upon 
the  battlements  of  truth  ;  and  he  won  his  best  preparation  for 
the  task,  not  in  the  contracted  and  desiccative  influence  of  po- 
lemical warfare,  but  amid  the  expanding  and  ennobling  ten- 
dencies which  prevail  where  *  glides  the  calm  current  of  do- 
mestic joy." 

Speaking  of  a  great  master  of  American  theology,  a  dis- 
tinguished professor  at  Andover  recently  remarked, — 

"  We  cannot  help  wishing  that  he  had  been  somewhat  more 
of  a  brother,  and  somewhat  less  of  a  champion  ;  that  he  had 
left  his  book  on  the  Will  just  as  large  as  it  is,  but  had  made  his 
book  on  the  Affections  and  sentiments  more  comprehensive  and 
full ;  that  he  had  been  a  little  more  like  one  on  whose  bosom 
we  might  lean  our  heads  at  a  supper,  and  a  little  less  like  one 
standing  in  the  gloom  of  solitude,  and  awing  down  every 
weakness  of  our  poor  nature.  We  need  and  crave  a  theology 
as  sacred  and  spiritual  as  his,  and  moreover  one  that  we  can 
take  with  us  into  the  flower-garden,  and  to  the  top  of  some 
goodly  hill,  and  in  a  sail  over  a  tasteful  lake,  and  into  the 
saloons  of  music,  and  to  the  galleries  of  the  painter  and  the 
sculptor,  and  to  the  repasts  of  social  joy,  and  to  all  those  hu- 
manizing scenes  where  Virtue  holds  her  sway,  not  merely  as 
that  generic  and  abstract  duty  of  a  t  love  to  being  in  general,' 
but  also  as  the  more  familiar  grace  of  a  love  to  some  beings  in 
particular.  We  do  want  a  theology  that  will  not  frown  with 
too  great  austereness  on  every  playful  sentiment,  nor  disdain 
all  communion  with  those  things  which  hard-nerved  men 
call  ;  innocent  follies,'  but  which  were  designed  by  Him  who 


58  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

remembereth  our  frame  to  make  the  intellect  more  pliant  and 
versatile,  and  the  manners  more  polished,  and  the  whole  man 
more  human.  Many  of  our  systematic  treatises  on  theology 
have  been  written  in  schools,  and  garrets,  and  cloisters,  and 
prisons  ;  some  of  them  by  men  bearing  the  title  of  '  bachelors 
in  divinity,'  and  the  character  of  bachelor  in  humanity  also; 
but  these  treatises  would  have  been  more  exactly  true,  had 
they  been  composed  amid  the  scenes  of  a  more  sympathizing 
and  social  life,  and  by  men  not  so  '  intensely  married  to  their 
folios  and  parchments.1  Much  of  our  theology  has  been  ham- 
mered out  by  metaphysicians ;  and  we  all  know  what  Burke 
says  of  these  men  — i  There  is  no  heart  so  hard  as  that  of 
a  thorough-bred  metaphysician.' " 

Christ  was  the  divinest  of  theologians,  because  he  taught 
not  in  abstraction,  but  exemplification  ;  not  in  dogmas  merely, 
but  deeds ;  in  the  ardor  of  his  heart,  as  well  as  the  energy  of 
his  mind ;  in  the  gentleness  of  his  demeanor  and  the  benefi- 
cent industry  of  his  life.  The  love  of  the  beautiful,  the  good, 
and  the  true,  were  a  trinity  in  his  soul,  never  mutilated,  smoth- 
ered, or  divorced.  From  the  earliest  youth  he  so  deepened  and 
refined  the  sentiment  of  the  beautiful,  that  he  could  not  be 
otherwise  than  good  ;  and  he  so  deepened  and  refined  the  sen- 
timent of  the  good,  that  it  was  impossible  for  him  to  be  other- 
wise than  true.  He  chose  this  order  and  condition  of  devel- 
opment here  below,  that  he  might  prepare  for  earth  that 
which  earth  most  needs  —  men  and  women  in  whom  the  beauti- 
ful, the  good,  and  the  true,  may  be  one,  harmonious,  and  divine, 
causing  their  hearts  instinctively  to  soar  toward  heaven  when- 
ever they  behold  the  flowers  of  the  field,  the  stars  in  the  fir- 
mament, and,  with  purer  vision  still,  gaze  on  angels  round  the 
eternal  throne. 

Christ  assumed  our  humanity,  and  rendered  it  intensely  hu- 
man, that  it  might  become  divine.  He  did  not  isolate  it,  nor 
associate  it  more  closely  with  the  exclusive  few  ;  he  socialized 
it  —  blended  it  intimately  with  the  great  masses,  knowing  that 
every  development  of  our  social  nature  tends  toward  the 
% 


THE    MANHOOD    OF    CHRIST.  59 

development  of  our  religious  emotions.  Absolute  solitude  is 
unnatural  to  mankind.  It  is  unfavorable  to  the  profoundest 
meditation,  and  suicidal  to  all  that  is  elevated  and  comprehen- 
sive in  the  unfolding  of  our  powers.  Man  is  not  by  nature  an 
ascetic,  sown  by  hazard  on  earth,  to  live  and  die  in  the  hidden 
shadow  of  a  rock  or  forest ;  he  is  born  in  the  midst  of  society, 
which  adopts  him,  nourishes  him,  trains  him,  communicates  to 
him  its  ideas,  its  passions,  vices,  virtues,  and  to  which  in  turn 
he  leaves,  with  his  dust  and  memory,  the  influences  of  his  own 
life.  In  humanity  every  thing  which  is  true  of  the  individual 
is  true  of  the  race ;  and  whatever  is  true  of  all  was  designed 
to  be  concentrated  in  each  for  his  improvement,  enjoyment, 
and  safeguard.  Our  fellow-men  are  our  fellow-men  in  all 
respects  ;  and  Christ,  who  through  his  incarnation  obtained  the 
truest  knowledge  of  our  condition,  by  the  most  perfect  expe- 
rience of  our  wants,  felt  the  most  profoundly  that  human  nature 
admits  of  no  privileges;  that  in  distributing  the  two  richest 
treasures  we  can  possess  —  freedom  and  truth  —  partiality  is  a 
crime.  Hence  the  first  thing  the  Redeemer  did,  was  to  rec- 
ognize and  fortify  the  great  and  holy  law  of  mutuality,  of 
reciprocity,  in  every  worthy  deed.  Who  better  than  he  could 
perceive  that  beings  endowed  with  passions  and  affections  are 
necessarily  dependent  upon  and  responsible  to  each  other  ?  A 
distinguished  follower  of  his  taught  that  the  obligation  of  broth- 
erly love  among  men  is  a  debt  from  which  we  are  never  ab- 
solved or  acquitted,  saying,  "  Owe  no  man  any  thing,  but  to 
love  one  another."  But  the  great  Master  had  long  before 
inculcated  this  law  by  his  example,  when,  disowned  by  his 
brethren  according  to  the  flesh,  and  discarded  by  the  worldly 
great,  he  was  compelled  to  rely  on  his  own  resources,  and 
illuminated  the  retired  but  social  sphere  of  his  development 
with  the  torch  of  love,  calm  and  majestic,  like  "  the  waveless 
ocean  in  its  noontide  slumbers." 

The  chief  design  of  Christianity  is,  to  create  in  its  subjects 
a  new  life,  and  to  accelerate  their  spiritual  progress.  That  this 
may  be  accomplished  with  the  greatest  certainty  and  widest 


60  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

success,  a  minor  motive  is,  to  develop  and  refine  social  ties, 
that  through  these  others  may  be  wooed  into  companionship  by 
the  way,  and  a  participation  of  the  final  reward.  Therefore 
its  Founder,  though  superhuman,  did  not  wish  to  appear  as  a 
giant,  least  of  all  a  solitary  one,  lest  the  multitude  of  ordinary 
mortals  should  be  alarmed  at  his  height,  and  shudder  before 
him  as  a  monster.  He  first  taught  that  family  life,  social 
spirit,  patriotism,  universal  brotherhood,  or  by  whatever  name 
the  law  of  reciprocity  may  be  designated,  all  spring  from  the 
existence  of  our  affections,  which  indissolubly  bind  our  fates 
to  those  of  our  fellow-men ;  that  intellectual,  or  moral,  or 
religious  solitude  is  impossible  so  long  as  love  is  exercised ; 
and  that  without  the  development  of  this,  the  best  portion  of 
our  nature,  perfection  can  never  be  attained.  Therefore  all 
the  superstitious  admiration  ever  felt  for  the  life  of  anchorites, 
so  far  from  being  the  legitimate  product  of  true  religion,  is  di- 
rectly opposed  to  it.  Hermits  are  monsters,  inasmuch  as  they 
adopt  a  mode  of  life  in  conflict  with  the  nature  of  man,  and 
in  every  respect  injurious  to  his  healthy  growth.  Nothing  but 
the  corruption  and  impiety  of  the  times  can  justify  a  solitary 
life  ;  and  even  this  is  not  a  sufficient  excuse,  according  to  the 
apostle  Paul :  "I  wrote  to  you  in  an  epistle  not  to  company 
with  fornicators ;  yet  not  altogether  [to  break  all  intercourse] 
with  the  fornicators  of  this  world,  or  with  the  covetous  or  ex- 
tortioners, or  with  idolaters ;  for  then  must  ye  needs  go  out  of 
the  world."  One  of  the  most  attractive  features  in  the  char- 
acter and  life  of  Christ,  is  this  early  and  unbounded  develop- 
ment of  his  social  nature  under  circumstances  which  were 
apparently  so  adverse.  He  may  have  been  neglected  by 
others,  but  he  neglected  none.  His  birth  was  so  low,  and  his 
preparatory  career  so  obscure,  that  the  great  and  influential  of 
earth  found  themselves  incapable  of  stooping  to  foster  his 
worth ;  but  he  who  was  greater  and  mightier  than  all,  volun- 
tarily assumed  that  position,  not  for  the  purpose  of  dragging 
any  down,  but  for  raising  all  up.  Kings,  princes,  and  priests ; 
Sadducee,  Pharisee,  and  Essene ;  all  sects,  orthodox  and  het- 


THE    MANHOOD    OF    CHRIST.  61 

erodox,  may  have  striven  equally  to  make  their  respective 
adherents  bow  and  mould  themselves  to  their  own  creed  ;  but 
lie,  the  lowly  aud  loving  man  of  the  people,  the  Son  of  God, 
the  Son  of  man,  every  where  and  in  every  condition,  would 
let  his  mighty  heart  swell  under  a  prostrate  and  abused  race, 
that  he  might  raise  them  above  oppression,  by  imparting  to  the 
soul  a  power  and  a  deliverance  which  sectarianism  and  tyranny 
can  never  wrest  from  its  grasp.  As  Christ  moved  about  from 
scene  to  scene  where  the  great  masses  antagonized  with  pen- 
ury and  wrong,  drudging  through  long  periods  of  unproductive 
toil,  that  a  few  might  riot  in  luxurious  ease,  and  gathering  at 
remote  intervals  a  few  gleams  of  home-joy,  while  their  op- 
pressors wasted  their  whole  lives  in  riotous  delights,  it  is  easy 
to  see  how  he  constantly  yearned  to  be  their  Redeemer,  and 
to  make  other  redeemers ;  to  spread  far  and  wide  ideas  and 
emotions  fitted  to  make  men  divine ;  to  undergo  all  privation, 
peril,  and  pain ;  to  love  where  he  was  hated,  and  to  die  that 
humanity  might  live,  in  loyalty  to  the  widest  affection  and  the 
highest  truth.  Hence  has  generation  after  generation  been 
disinthralled  and  beautified,  blessed  with  patriots,  sages,  mar- 
tyrs, prophets,  and  apostles,  men  facing  the  dungeon,  the  sword, 
and  the  flame,  rather  than  desert  their  allegiance  to  the  best 
interests  of  the  greatest  number.  This  was  indeed  God  man- 
ifest in  the  flesh  —  a  Deity  full  of  justice,  wisdom,  and  benev- 
olence ;  who  passed  from  heaven  to  earth,  that  he  might  raise 
earth  to  heaven ;  who  adopted  our  shape  and  carried  our  sor- 
sows,  that  he  might  comprehend  us  better,  compassionate  more 
benignly  our  infirmities,  and  vindicate  us  without  defeat  when 
tortured  by  the  evils  which  in  this  bad  world  we  cannot  escape. 
It  is  this  intense  human ness  of  the  Savior,  as  well  as  his 
divinity,  which  gives  to  his  religion  its  ineffable  gentleness  and 
irresistible  power. 

But  if  the  necessity  of  self-reliance  occasioned  the  thorough 
and  comprehensive  development  of  Christ's  sensibilities,  it  had 
an  equally  beneficial  influence  on  his  intellect.     In  some  re- 
spects, the  early  training  of  the  Old  Testament  prophets  and 
6 


62  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

that  of  the  great  Prophet  of  the  New,  were  similar ;  but  in  most 
particulars  the  contrast  was  very  great. 

"  The  most  extraordinary  beings,  as  imaginative  objects,  who 
ever  appeared  upon  this  planet,  were  the  prophet-bards  of 
Israel.  Mark  one  of  those  wondrous  beings,  in  his  most  per- 
fect character  !  He  was  a  solitary  and  savage  man,  residing 
with  lions,  when  he  was  not  waylaying  kings,  on  whose  brow 
the  scorching  sun  of  Syria  had  charactered  its  fierce  and  ter- 
rible hue ;  and  whose  wild  eye  swam  with  a  fierce  insanity, 
gathered  from  solitary  communings  with  the  original  forms  of 
nature  ;  the  sand,  the  sea,  the  mountains,  and  the  sky  ;  as  well 
as  with  the  divine  afflatus.  He  had  lain  in  the  cockatrice's 
den  ;  he  had  put  his  hand  on  the  hole  of  the  asp  ;  he  had  spent 
the  night  on  lion-surrounded  trees,  and  slept  and  dreamed  amid 
their  hungry  roar ;  he  had  swum  in  the  Dead  Sea,  or  haunted, 
like  a  ghost,  those  dreary  caves  which  lowered  around  it ;  he 
had  drank  of  the  melted  snow  on  the  top  of  Lebanon  ;  at  Sinai 
he  had  traced  and  trode  on  the  burning  footprints  of  Jehovah  ; 
he  had  heard  messages  at  midnight,  which  made  his  hair  to 
arise  and  his  skin  to  creep ;  he  had  been  wet  with  dews  of  the 
night,  and  girt  by  the  demons  of  the  wilderness;  he  had  been 
tossed  up  and  down  like  a  leaf  upon  the  strong  and  awful  storm 
of  his  inspiration.  He  was  essentially  a  lonely  man,  cut  off, 
by  gulf  upon  gulf,  from  all  tender  ties  and  human  associa- 
tions. He  had  no  home  ;  a  wife  he  might  be  permitted  to 
many,  but  the  permission,  as  to  Hosea,  might  only  be  a  curse ; 
and,  when  her  death  became  necessary,  as  a  sign,  as  in  the 
case  of  Ezekiel,  she  died  and  left  him  in  the  same  austere 
seclusion  in  which  he  had  existed  before.  The  power  which 
came  upon  him,  cut,  by  its  fierce  coming,  all  the  threads  which 
bound  him  to  his  kind,  tore  him  from  the  plough  or  from  the 
pastoral  solitude,  and  hurried  him  to  the  desert,  and  thence  to 
the  foot  of  the  throne,  or  to  the  wheel  of  the  triumphal  char- 
iot. And  how  startling  his  coming  to  crowned  or  conquering 
guilt !  Wild  from  the  wilderness,  bearded  like  its  lion  lord, 
the  fury  of  God  glaring  in  his  eye,  his  mantle  heaving  to  his 


THE    MANHOOD    OF    CHRIST.  63 

heaving  breast ;  his  words  stern,  swelling,  tinged  on  their  ter- 
rible edges  with  poetry ;  his  attitude,  dignity  ;  his  gesture, 
power  ;  how  did  he  burst  upon  the  astonished  gaze,  how  ab- 
rupt and  awful  his  entrance,  how  short  and  spirit-like  his  stay ; 
how  dreamily  dreadful  the  impression  made  by  his  words,  long 
after  they  had  ceased  to  tingle  on  the  ears  ,  and  how  myste- 
rious the  solitude  into  which  he  seemed  to  melt  away  !  Poet, 
nay,  prophet,  were  a  feeble  name  for  such  a  being.  He  was 
a  trumpet  filled  with  the  voice  of  God  ;  a  chariot  of  fire  car- 
rying blazing  tidings ;  a  meteor  kindled  at  the  eye,  and 
blown  on  the  breath  of  the  Eternal !  " 

The  above  sketch  may  be  true  respecting  the  heralds  of  the 
ancient  theocracy,  but  it  does  not  apply  to  the  Founder  of  a 
newer  and  better  dispensation.  He  was  diviner  than  they  — 
had  more  character,  and  therefore  was  habitually  more  majes- 
tic and  calm.  He  was  equally  private  in  his  habits  of  life, 
was  even  more  conversant  with  nature  than  his  predecessors 
on  the  heights  of  inspiration  ;  but  he  was  imbued  with  Deity 
more  than  any  man  —  relied  incessantly  on  himself  for  aug- 
mented force,  and  exerted  the  greatest  public  energy,  for  the 
veiy  reason,  probably,  that  he  threw  abroad  his  heavenly  gran- 
deur from  the  shadows  of  the  most  humble  sphere.  It  was 
this  retired,  calm,  and  truly  godlike  self-unfolding  of  our  Re- 
deemer that  shed  an  epic  splendor  around  every  step  of  his 
progress,  made  each  injury  he  suffered  a  solace  to  emulative 
disciples  on  his  track,  and  every  act  he  performed  a  symbol 
most  significant  of  truth  and  freedom  to  all  mankind. 

We  have  seen  how  our  Lord  early  relied  on  resources 
native  to  himself,  and  arose  superior  to  the  religious  dogmas  of 
the  day,  as  they  were  taught  by  all  the  popular  theological 
schools.  At  the  outset,  oppressed  as  he  was  by  toil  and  exclu- 
siveness,  he  strove  to  stand  forth  the  first  among  our  race,  an 
independent  thinker,  struggling  for  the  suffering  of  every  class, 
with  head,  hands,  and  heart  disinthralled.  Mankind  yearned 
for  the  advent  of  one  in  whom  the  love  of  the  beautiful,  the 
pursuit  of  the  good,  and  the  defence  of  the  true,  would  not  be 


64  REPUBLICAN   CHRISTIANITY. 

a  mere  artistic  perception,  but  a  natural  and  ardent  passion, 
such  as  in  Christ  only  is  realized.  He  best  served  the  salva- 
tion of  humanity  by  the  peculiar  education  of  himself  as  an 
individual.  When  he  had  once  made  the  beautiful,  the  good, 
and  the  true,  an  harmonious  unity  for  himself,  the  divine  ex- 
ample of  this  unity  became  a  more  resistless  argument  to  his 
sympathetic  brethren  than  all  the  eloquence  that  man  or  angel 
could  employ.  He  broke  away  from  sectarian  despotism,  and 
aspired  to  become  thoroughly  and  energetically  individual  in 
the  purity  and  power  of  his  own  light,  that  he  might  excite 
kindred  aspirations  in  all  other  individuals  ;  and,  for  their  en- 
couragement, while  his  own  person  was  yet  sombre  in  the 
lowest  vale,  he  poured  the  dawn  of  universal  deliverance  along 
every  summit  of  the  world.  All  that  was  needed  to  make  him 
a  tender  friend,  a  perfect  teacher,  and  a  mighty  Redeemer,  he 
acquired  by  experience  on  earth,  and  transmitted  for  its  hope. 
He  had  the  same  faith  in  himself  as  in  his  doctrine  ;  and  feel- 
ing that  both  were  divine,  he  was  more  than  willing  —  it  was 
his  only  ambition  and  delight  —  to  lay  them  at  the  feet  of  every 
man.  He  would  transform  each  immortal  creature  of  our  race 
not  only  into  a  disciple,  but  a  prophet,  placing  in  his  heart  a 
sublime  idea,  a  celestial  sentiment,  which  he  should  profoundly 
feel  was  destined  to  redeem  the  world.  With  a  modest  but 
majestic  self-reliance,  he  shrank  from  no  peril,  no  pain,  no 
obloquy,  that  he  might  accomplish  the  advocacy  of  mercy  and 
truth  in  word  and  deed.  He  went  abroad,  armed  with  no  ex- 
clusiveness  and  no  coercion,  but  radiant  with  the  energies  and 
beatitudes  of  a  salvation  designed  to  bless  all  nations,  free, 
purify,  and  exalt  all  mankind. 

The  mental  independence  so  prominent  in  Christ  is  a  rare 
thing  on  earth,  and  most  worthy  of  our  esteem.  We  see  many 
persons  who  are  able  to  act  with  vigor  so  long  as  they  are 
sustained  by  popular  opinion  ;  but  the  moment  this  deserts 
them,  they  fall  into  utter  imbecility,  and  the  wonder  is,  how 
they  ever  have  commanded  the  confidence  and  admiration  of 
their  fellows.     But  such  are  never  heroes ;  they  belong  not 


THE    MANHOOD    OF    CHRIST.  65 

to  the  goodly  fellowship  of  those  who  stoop  their  anointed 
heads  as  low  as  death,  in  defence  of  ennobling  and  saving 
truth.  Christ,  on  the  contrary,  was  the  consummate  model 
of  the  noblest  cast  of  character;  one  "by  its  own  weight 
made  steadfast  and  immovable."  Suffering  emancipated, 
instructed,  and  consolidated  his  mind,  as  it  does  in  every  hero 
truly  great.  The  burdens  which  Isaiah,  Stephen,  Paul,  and 
Luther  bore,  gave  steadiness  to  their  movements  and  energy 
to  their  limbs. 

"Thus  doth,  strength 

To  wisdom.,  courage,  and  long-suffering  love, 

Minister  like  a  slave." 

Schiller,  full  of  that  self-relying  individuality  which  after- 
wards made  him  a  master  in  his  sphere,  when  encompassed 
with  the  gloomy  auspices  of  his  early  manhood,  exclaimed 
bravely  to  his  friend,  "  O  Karl,  so  long  as  my  spirit  can 
raise  itself  to  be  free,  it  shall  bow  to  no  yoke  !  "  Christ 
acted  on  this  principle,  above  and  beyond  all  human  beings. 
Difficulty  was  the  element  in  which  he  wrought  out  his  mental 
greatness  in  the  presence  of  man,  as  if  on  purpose  to  teach 
him  to  resist  resistance,  and  in  the  fierceness  of  holy  endeavor 
to  grow  strong.  The  opposition  of  men,  and  the  bufferings 
of  elemental  storms,  the  sudden  vicissitudes  of  time,  and  the 
adversities  of  adverse  fate,  are  all  designed  to  drive  man  from 
the  vassalage  of  grovelling  conventionalities,  and  lift  him  to 
the  exalted  regions  of  pure  action  and  free  thought.  To 
the  true  champion,  susceptible  of  great  improvement  and 
beneficent  deeds,  "  if  misfortune  comes,  she  brings  along  the 
bravest  virtues."  The  path  to  perfection  is  always  difficult ; 
but  the  trials  which  the  aspirant  meets  are  designed  to  rouse, 
and  not  to  discourage,  him.  He  must  win  strength  and  speed, 
as  grow  the  eagle's  wings  and  the  giant's  arms ;  he  must 
tunnel  the  mountains  in  his  way,  or  soar  above  them. 

Doubtless  the  difficulties  of  our  state  are  among  its  best 
blessings.  "  The  distance  at  which  good  objects  are  placed, 
and  the  obstacles  which  intervene,  are  the  means  by  which 
6  * 


66  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

Providence  rouses,  quickens,  invigorates,  expands,  all  our 
powers.  These  form  the  school  in  which  our  minds  and 
hearts  are  trained.  Difficulty  and  hardship  bind  us  more 
closely  to  objects.  We  love  more  ardently  what  we  have 
suffered  to  attain,  and  enjoy  nothing  so  exquisitely  as  what 
we  have  pursued  through  calamity  and  danger.  It  is  in  such 
pursuits,  when  we  endure  and  labor  for  ends  which  con- 
science and  religion  enjoin,  that  our  whole  nature  is  called 
forth  and  perfected.  The  heart  gains  new  ardor,  the  under- 
standing new  clearness  and  vigor.  A  delightful  conscious- 
ness of  rectitude  sustains  us,  even  if  we  fail,  and  gives  a 
rapture  to  success."  Christ  came  to  teach  us  that  all  wisdom 
is  bought  with  labor  and  pain,  and  that  we  arrive  at  holy 
truth  and  the  highest  bliss  only  through  great  tribulation. 
True,  we  are  on  a  field  of  battle,  and  imminent  are  the  perils 
which  menace  us  on  every  side  ;  but  the  vestiges  of  a  celes- 
tial Leader  are  palpable  all  around,  telling  both  where  and 
how  he  fought  and  conquered,  winning  from  this  tear- wet 
and  sanguinary  ground  crowns  of  righteousness  and  victory 
for  every  brave  comrade  in  the  war.  This  independent 
self-reliance  of  the  great  Captain  of  our  salvation  is  happily 
adapted  to  soothe  and  encourage  every  manly  follower,  and 
in  the  hours  of  exhaustion  and  doubt  to  rouse  in  him  invinci- 
ble faculties  kindred  to  the  perfect  model  he  emulates.  Like 
him,  he  will  struggle  most  for  elevation  of  soul,  and  press 
perpetually  towards  a  throne  on  high,  not  advancing  like  an 
earth-fowl  blown  upward  by  the  chance  direction  of  impetuous 
gusts,  but  soaring  through  a  purer  and  calmer  medium  to  genial 
skies,  upborne  by  wings  full  of  living  and  growing  power. 

In  contemplating  the  discipline  of  Christ  preparatory  to  his 
public  career,  one  cannot  but  be  struck  with  the  fitness  he  at- 
tained through  the  practice  of  perpetual  industry  and  fearless 
thought.  He  never  required  others  to  earn  his  bread  or  do 
his  thinking.  He  endured  patiently  many  personal  wrongs, 
and  much  social  oppression ;  but  he  never  permitted  tyrants 
of  any  degree  to  dictate  to  him  what  to  believe.     He  would 


THE    MANHOOD    OF    CHRIST.  67 

suffer  no  spiritual  intolerance,  and  he  practised  none.  He 
pitied  the  ignorance  and  bigotry  of  mankind,  and  devoted  his 
entire  life  to  the  work  of  teaching  them ;  but  he  never  coerced 
an  individual  to  a  particular  belief.  He  poured  forth  heart 
emotions  and  rational  motives  enough  to  subdue  and  lead 
captive  -  all ;  but  he  left  his  disciples,  like  himself,  free  in 
every  decision  and  act.  He  wished  to  see  none  involved  in 
meshes,  or  incarcerated  in  gloom,  which  suffocated  every 
exhilarating  breath,  and  crippled  all  vigorous  growth.  Every 
act  he  performed,  every  precept  he  inculcated,  every  prayer 
he  offered,  was  designed  to  open  a  free  and  fascinating  com- 
munication between  himself  and  every  other  soul,  that  all 
might  stand  inthralled  by  affection  and  rapturous  thought  in 
his  presence,  but  no  one  palsied  by  ignorance  or  chilled  by 
fear.  He  came  to  earth,  burdened  with  immortal  verities 
which  he  panted  to  distribute  through  every  avenue  of  the 
general  heart ;  he  was  accustomed  to  "  breathe  in  worlds  to 
which  the  heaven  of  heavens  is  but  a  veil,"  and  his  only  desire 
was  to  elevate  the  degraded  of  every  class  to  an  unbounded 
participation  of  a  mental  life  and  moral  grandeur  as  un- 
shackled and  glorious  as  his  own.  If  we  would  be  like  him, 
we  must  not  fail  to  imitate  this  divine  trait  in  his  character 
and  life.  We  must  rise  above  contracted  dogmas,  disregard 
ephemeral  dignities,  inhale  the  sublime  majesty  of  Jesus,  and, 
like  him,  be  at  once  the  servant  and  victor  of  the  world.  In 
the  language  of  another,  we  may  exclaim, — 

"  What  faculties  slumber  within,  weighed  down,  by  the 
chains  of  custom  !  The  want  of  courage  to  carry  out  great 
principles,  and  to  act  on  them  at  all  risks,  is  fatal  to  origi- 
nality and  freshness.  Conformity  benumbs  and  cramps  genius 
and  creative  power.  We  must  commit  ourselves  fully  to  a 
principle  of  truth  and  right;  we  must  dare  to  follow  it  to  the 
end.  Moral  independence  is  the  essential  condition  of  loving 
warmly,  thinking  deeply,  acting  efficiently,  of  having  the  soul 
awake,  of  true  life.  This  habit  of  reliance  on  principle  should 
give   us   a   buoyant   consciousness   of  superiority   to   every 


68  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

outward  influence.  A  far-sighted  anticipation  of  great  results 
from  worthy  deeds  should  make  us  strenuous  in  action,  and 
fill  us  with  a  cheerful  trust.  No  particular  interests  should 
absorb  our  sympathies  ;  but  our  hearts  should  flow  out  in  sen- 
sibility to  every  thing  which  concerns  humanity,  so  that  the 
pursuit  of  particular  objects  may  expand  and  exalt  our  whole 
power  of  good,  and  free  us  from  all  narrowness  of  spirit  or 
fanaticism.  A  minister  should  be  possessed  with  the  con- 
sciousness of  a  higher  law  than  public  opinion,  traditionary 
usage,  prevalent  fashion.  Strictness,  sternness,  may  often  be 
demanded  of  him  to  whom  conscience  is  the  supreme  law ; 
and  power  and  majesty  belong  to  him  who  yields  himself  up 
in  willing  obedience  to  the  absolute  rectitude  of  God. 

"  A  bold,  free  tone  in  conversation,  the  decided  expression 
of  pure  and  lofty  sentiment,  may  be  influential  to  change  the 
whole  temper  and  cast  of  thinking  of  society  around  us.  Are 
we  not  traitors  to  great  truths  when  we  suppress  the  utterance 
of  them,  and  let  the  opposite  errors  pass  unrebuked  ?  Ought 
not  the  spirit  of  the  world  to  be  continually  met  with  mild- 
ness, yet  unfaltering  firmness  ?  It  cannot  be  opposed  too 
steadily  and  uncompromisingly.  To  bring  out  a  noble  spirit 
into  daily  intercourse,  is  a  more  precious  offering  to  truth  than 
retired  speculation  and  writing.  He  who  leaves  a  holy  life 
behind  him,  to  bless  and  guide  his  fellows,  bequeaths  to  the 
world  a  richer  legacy  than  any  book.  The  true,  simple  view 
of  right  should  be  presented  without  disguise.  High  princi- 
ples are  to  be  advanced  as  real  laws;  the  vague  uncertainty 
wrapped  round  them  by  unmeaning  professions  and  practical 
renunciation  is  to  be  stripped  away,  and  they  are  to  be  firmly 
set  up  as  standards  for  the  judgment  of  all  men,  public  and 
private.  No  air  of  superiority,  contempt,  anger,  no  fault- 
finding cynicism,  no  thought  of  self,  should  mingle  with  this 
testimony  to  right;  but  a  true  love  of  mankind,  a  reverence 
of  virtue,  a  desire  to  elevate  all  men  to  the  nobleness  for 
which  they  are  destined,  should  manifest  the  depth  and 
purity  of  our  moral  convictions." 


THE    MANHOOD    OF    CHRIST.  69 

Our  greatest  anguish  is  internal,  connected  with  those 
efforts  which  transpire  in  every  thinking  soul,  as  it  gropes  in 
that  partial  night  wherein  Providence  has  thought  best  to  leave 
the  reason  of  man,  with  respect  to  his  origin,  his  nature,  and 
his  destiny.  In  relation  to  the  most  important  matters,  we 
acutely  and  constantly  feel  the  need  of  a  guide,  one  who  can 
arrest  us  from  the  labyrinths  of  doubt,  and  transport  us  to  the 
regions  of  light  and  security.  Christ  is  that  blessed  guide, 
who,  by  his  own  severe  experience  in  our  flesh  and  among 
our  toils,  escaped  from  the  cold  and  gloomy  abstractions  of 
heathen  philosophy,  rose  above  the  confused  jargon  of  the 
schools,  resolved  the  problem  of  human  destiny,  and  unveiled 
life  and  immortality  to  the  feeblest  vision  and  the  dullest  heart. 
He  demonstrated  that  for  the  simplest  and  rudest  mind  to 
embrace  true  religion,  it  had  but  to  seize  on  a  few  salient  and 
saving  truths.  It  had  not  to  entangle  and  confound  itself 
amid  a  maze  of  manifold  claims,  conflicting  authorities,  and 
impossible  persons.  Supreme  love  to  God,  obedience  to  the 
Great  Teacher  sent,  and  devotion  to  the  welfare  of  our 
brother  man, — these  constituted  the  one  great  doctrine  which 
gleamed  in  all  his  discourse,  and  was  exemplified  in  all  his 
career.  With  Christ,  religion  was  not  a  mere  theory,  but  a 
holy  and  radiant  fact,  a  prolific  and  powerful  life,  adapted, 
through  its  urgency  and  agency,  example  and  appeal,  to 
qualify  its  subjects,  struggling  to  vanquish  oppression  without 
and  within,  to  rise  above  feverish  excitement  and  fainting 
flesh,  to  serene  heights  in  the  skies,  where  Jehovah  wel- 
comes the  champions  from  earth,  and  crowns  them  with  joy 
forevermore. 

In  his  own  person,  Christ  naturalized  human  affection  and 
intellect,  as  well  as  set  it  free.  At  the  time  of  his  advent,  the 
earth  groaned,  being  burdened,  as  at  the  present  day,  with  a 
surplusage  of  mechanical  contrivances,  to  force  arbitrary  prin- 
ciples upon  man,#crushing  his  unfolding  faculties,  instead  of 
promoting  their  natural  evolution,  the  growth  of  the  mind 
itself.     Spiritual   faculties,  susceptibilities,  and  tastes,  of  the 


70  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

highest  power  and  progressiveness,  lie  wrapped  in  that  germ 
of  vital  intelligence  which  has  been  planted  in  every  human 
being ;  and  it  is  the  budding  forth,  the  legitimate  unfolding  and 
expansion,  of  this  manifold  embryo,  which  demands  our  chief 
care.  All  the  kingdoms  of  knowledge  on  earth,  and  all  the 
appliances  which  can  by  any  means  be  produced,  only  form 
the  compost  out  of  which  the  living  germ  grows,  extracts  ali- 
ment, and  assimilates  all  strength  and  fruitfulness  to  itself.  It 
is  just  so  far  useful,  and  no  farther,  as  it  contributes  to  develop 
and  fortify  the  faculties  around  which  it  is  accumulated  and 
applied.  The  growth  of  the  inner  and  essential  man  is  all 
that  is  needed,  and  this  only  is  valuable.  The  mind  of  man 
is  not  a  soil,  and  its  varied  information  the  diversified  flowers 
and  harvests  that  root  themselves  therein.  On  the  contrary, 
mind  itself  is  the  plant  of  immortal  worth,  and  knowledge  the 
soil  to  be  drawn  around,  not  to  overwhelm  it,  but  to  promote 
the  growth  of  its  roots  and  to  ripen  its  fruits.  Christ  came  "  to 
plant  the  tree  of  life,  to  plant  fair  freedom's  tree,"  simultane- 
ous with  the  growth  of  which,  every  soul  should  expand  its 
roots  and  stretch  its  boughs,  imbibing  vigor  from  all  healthful 
elements,  and  producing  fruit  in  every  land.  He  would  not 
have  the  plant  of  righteousness  cooped  in  the  effeminate  air 
of  Pharisaic  conservatories,  nor  boxed  within  the  contracted 
dimensions  of  Sadducean  creeds,  but  rooted  and  grounded  in 
the  firm  soil  and  granite  of  world-wide  truth,  where  the  free 
mountain  winds  of  Heaven's  own  divinity  might  have  leave  to 
blow  against  it. 

Christianity  is  as  flexile  in  its  adaptation  as  it  is  potent  in  its 
efficiency.  It  is  a  power  which  can  cope  with  the  grossest 
systems  of  idolatry,  or  eradicate  the  last  stain  from  a  saint ; 
kindle  in  an  infant  the  first  gleam  of  devotion,  and  thrill  the 
highest  angel  forever  with  aspiring  thought.  What  the  world 
most  needs  is,  to  be  brought  under  the  influence  of  a  religion 
so  happily  adapted  to  its  constitution  and  wants. 

"  An  amusing  story  is  to  be  found  in  the  Spectator  of  a  man 
in  the  pursuit  of  health  by  rule.     He  was  possessed  of  a  strange 


THE    MANHOOD    OF    CHRIST.  71 

notion  that  his  constitutional  soundness  might  invariably  be 
tested  by  the  weight  of  the  body.  He  furnished  himself, 
therefore,  with  a  weighing-chair,  and  regulated  his  food,  exer- 
cise, sleep,  and  all  other  movements,  by  a  perpetual  reference 
to  the  index  of  his  machine.  This  is  a  fair  type  of  the 
mechanical  regularity  within  the  range  of  human  contrivance. 
How  different  is  that  of  nature !  There,  too,  we  have  laws, 
constant  as  the  daily  course  of  the  sun  in  the  heavens ;  but 
laws,  the  special  and  external  modifications  of  which  adjust 
themselves  with  the  nicest  accuracy  to  the  multiform  conditions 
under  which  they  develop  themselves.  The  vital  energy 
which  moulds  the  oak  or  the  elm,  will  unerringly  put  itself 
forth  according  to  certain  definite  structural  rules ;  and  the 
result  will  be  that,  in  the  form  and  color  of  the  leaf,  the  gen- 
eral grouping  of  the  twigs,  the  direction  of  the  branches,  and 
the  contour  of  the  whole  tree,  the  one  may  be  readily  distin- 
guished from  the  other.  But  with  this  wonderful  regularity 
there  is  combined  a  variety  yet  more  wonderful.  No  two  trees 
of  the  same  species  are  identically  alike.  The  inward  law, 
which  secures  a  structural  sameness,  leaves  its  work  to  be 
modified  by  the  innumerable  external  circumstances  in  the 
presence  of  which  it  exerts  itself ;  arid  accordingly,  instead  of 
having  a  dull  monotony,  wearisome  to  the  eye  and  oppressive 
to  the  spirits,  we  have  an  infinite  variety  adapted  to  give  play, 
by  turns,  to  all  our  pleasurable  emotions. 

"  Christianity  in  the  heart  of  man,  say,  rather,  in  the  bosom 
of  society,  is  a  vital  energy,  working  by  rule,  clothing  itself  in 
certain  well-defined  and  identical  forms,  fashioning  out  of 
human  powers  and  passions  certain  structural  results,  weaving 
into  a  tissue  of  the  same  general  character  and  fabric  all  the 
moral  elements  which  constitute  the  material  of  its  designs,  and 
thus  securing  an  external  regularity  and  order.  But  the  laws 
by  which  it  works  out  these  results  are,  to  a  certain  extent, 
capable  of  modification  by  every  variety  of  surrounding  influ- 
ences. The  unchangeable  tendencies  of  the  vital,  motive  prin- 
ciple, which,  like   leaven,  is   to  leaven   the  whole   mass  of 


72  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

humanity,  are  found,  nevertheless,  to  harmonize  with  an  ex- 
tremely flexible  and  self-adjusting  system  of  instrumentality ; 
a  system  which,  retaining  under  all  circumstances  certain  lead- 
ing and  cognizable  forms,  may  yet  adapt  itself  to  the  special 
peculiarities  of  time,  place,  custom,  habit,  and  political  consti- 
tution, and  may  take  an  outward  modification  of  form  —  here, 
for  instance,  by  a  healthy  excitement,  stimulating  an  active 
zeal ;  there,  by  enlightened  instruction,  regulating  fervor  in 
danger  of  running  into  fanaticism  —  from  the  peculiar  moral 
atmosphere,  the  combination  of  outward  influences,  in  the 
midst  of  which  it  grows." 

The  most  conclusive  proof  of  the  supernatural  origin  of  our 
religion  is  found  in  its  naturalness,  in  its  adaptation  to  our  high- 
est wants  and  noblest  growth.  It  imparts  to  its  possessor  "  that 
inner  eye  which  is  the  bliss  of  solitude,"  and  causes  him  to 
"  hear  the  veiled  gods  walk  at  night  through  the  hushed  cham- 
bers  of  his  listening  soul."  Intellect  reigns  supreme,  associ- 
ated with  invincible  faith,  its  living  soul  and  quickening  spirit. 
Throned  in  the  august  temple  of  universal  truth,  the  votary 
yields  to  no  error,  and  sinks  before  no  obstacle  ;  fortified  as  he 
is  by  God  on  high  and  his  own  true  purpose,  he  is  destined  to 
conquer  all  enemies,  and  work  out  a  resistless  life  through  self- 
reliance  and  heavenly  aid.  He  makes  his  body  and  all  its 
senses  subservient  to  the  higher  interests  of  the  soul,  and 
walks  abroad  under  the  everlasting  firmament,  rejoicing  in  the 
light  which  radiates  every  where  in  the  placid  regions  of  his 
choice,  and  becomes  worthy,  because  willing,  to  commune  with 
Jehovah,  face  to  face.  The  mind  thus  emancipated  from 
earth-born  conventionalities,  and  made  one  with  great  nature, 
has  its  movements  measured  by  the  movements  of  the  universe. 
Stationed  on  the  Alps  of  divinest  knowledge  and  holiest  delight, 
the  devout  servant  of  God  and  man,  watchful  and  free,  beholds 
the  effulgence  of  a  brighter  morn  bursting  on  a  world  too  long 
obscured  by  superstitious  fear,  and  rejoices  at  the  sight  as  an 
exiled  angel  would  rejoice  before  the  unfolding  gates  of  heaven. 
These  are  the  true  disciples  of  Him  who  appeared  on  earth  to 


THE    MANHOOD    OF    CHRIST.  73 

give  liberty  and  naturalness  to  the  human  mind.  They  are 
beacon-lights,  kindled  to  cheer  and  guide  the  benighted  race. 
They  resemble  the  mountains  which  the  pure  and  tranquil  dawn 
smiles  on  long  before  the  rising  of  common  day,  and  which,  as 
they  were  the  first  to  hail  the  rising  sun,  so,  struggling  against 
darkness  early  and  late,  they  preserve  far  into  night  the  linger- 
ing beams  of  his  glory. 

By  emancipating  the  affections  and  intellect  of  man  in  his 
own  person,  and  by  providing  for  their  natural  growth,  Jesus 
Christ  rendered  these  attributes  more  intense  and  palpable  to 
every  human  being.  It  is  hard  for  man  to  become  the  abso- 
lute slave  of  custom,  to  efface  completely  from  his  brow  the 
mark  of  his  divine  origin,  and  crush  fully  from  his  heart  the 
dream  and  the  daring  of  his  immortal  destiny.  Yet  is  he  often 
so  abjectly  subservient  to  the  powers  of  darkness,  that  he  needs 
some  one  who  has  partaken  of  his  sorrows,  but  not  of  his  guilt, 
to  stand  up  with  divine  earnestness,  and  tell  him  how  much  he 
has  deflected  from  virtue's  path,  and  how  much  energy,  as  well 
as  happiness,  by  this  rebellion  he  has  lost.  This  was  the  mis- 
sion of  humanity's  great  model  and  sufferer,  the  immortal 
Nazarene.  His  infant  slumbers,  his  juvenile  toils,  his  manly 
experience,  his  public  ministry,  his  conquest  over  hell  and  tri- 
umphant ascent  to  heaven,  had  a  much  more  intimate  connec- 
tion with  human  history  than  theologians  are  wont  to  recognize. 
If  we  would  follow  in  his  footsteps,  we  must  develop  the  entire- 
ness  of  our  energies,  as  he  did  his,  loving  as  well  as  learning, 
doing  as  well  as  believing,  since  knowledge  and  faith  are  val- 
uable only  so  far  as  they  conduce  to  vigorous  thinking  and 
beneficent  deeds.  When  Jesus  appeared,  he  found  power  and 
craft  leagued  together,  and  every  where  employed  in  grinding 
man  in  the  dust.  Priests  claimed  the  privilege  of  exercising 
the  twofold  function  of  teacher  and  tyrant ;  and  it  was  against 
fragmentizing  the  human  soul  that  he  was  prepared  to  protest 
with  the  whole  force  of  his  life  and  all  the  eloquence  of  his 
warmest  blood.  It  was  this  tenderness  of  Christ  that  touched 
all  hearts,  and  drew  the  multitudes  close  around  him,  and  made 
7 


74  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

his  frank  and  courageous  example,  as  well  as  his  benignant 
words,  an  irresistible  sermon  which  will  speak  to  the  remotest 
generations  of  mankind.  All  ingenuous  spirits  will  see  the 
adaptation,  and  verify  in  themselves  the  infinite  worth,  of  that 
religion  which  unfolds  the  harmony  of  our  physical  nature  as 
it  ascends  to  the  intellectual ;  the  harmony  of  the  intellectual 
as  it  ascends  to  the  moral ;  the  harmony  of  the  moral  as  it 
ascends  to  the  religious  ;  and  when  it  has  unfolded  all  the 
harmony  of  the  religious,  causes  its  subject,  by  a  spontaneous 
and  glorious  transition,  to  ascend  to  heaven  as  a  son  of  God. 
While  preparing  for  his  public  toils,  our  Lord  moved  about 
gently  among  the  race  he  came  to  redeem,  like  "stillest 
streams  watering  fairest  meadows ; "  but  he  every  where  made 
hearts  feel  his  presence,  and  from  first  to  last  ruled  only  by 
the  power  of  his  love. 

We  have  considered  the  experience  which  in  his  early  man- 
hood Christ  had  of  social  oppression,  and  the  trials  he  endured 
of  personal  self-reliance  Let  us  now  glance  at  the  discipline 
he  was  made  to  feel  under  the  seductions  of  power.  From  the 
account  which  the  evangelists  give  of  the  fast,  and  the  scene 
at  the  pinnacle  of  the  temple,  it  is  clear  that  the  Savior  did 
not  wish  to  free  himself  from  the  sense  of  human  weakness 
and  dependence  ;  that  he  would  work  no  miracle  for  that  pur- 
pose. Speaking  of  the  still  more  remarkable  temptation  of 
universal  dominion,  Neander  remarks, — 

"  We  do  not  take  the  third  temptation  as  implying  literally  that 
Satan  proposed  to  Christ  to  fall  down  and  do  him  homage,  as  the 
price  of  a  transfer  of  dominion  over  all  the  kingdoms  of  the  world  : 
no  extraordinary  degree  of  piety  would  have  been  necessary 
to  rebuke  such  a  proposal  as  this.  We  consider  it  as  involving 
the  two  following  points,  which  must  be  taken  together,  viz., 
1.  The  establishment  of  Messiah's  dominion  as  an  outward 
kingdom,  with  wordly  splendors ;  and,  2.  The  worship  of  Satan 
in  connection  with  it,  which,  though  not  fully  expressed,  is 
implied  in  the  act  which  he  demands,  and  which  Christ  treats 
as  equivalent  to  worshipping  him.     Herein  was  the  temptation, 


THE    MANHOOD    OF   CHRIST.  75 

that  the  Messiah  should  not  develop  his  kingdom  gradually,  and 
in  its  pure  spirituality  from  within,  but  should  establish  it  at 
once,  as  an  outward  dominion  ;  and  that  although  this  could 
not  be  accomplished  without  the  use  of  an  evil  agency,  the 
end  would  sanctify  the  means. 

"  We  find  here  the  principle,  that  to  try  to  establish  Mes- 
siah's kingdom  as  an  outward,  worldly  dominion,  is  to  wish  to 
turn  the  kingdom  of  God  into  the  kingdom  of  the  devil ;  and 
to  employ  that  fallen  intelligence  which  pervades  all  human 
sovereignties,  only  in  a  different  form,  to  found  the  reign  of 
Christ.  And  in  rejecting  the  temptation,  Christ  condemned 
every  mode  of  secularizing  his  kingdom,  as  well  as  all  the 
devil-worship  which  must  result  from  attempting  that  kingdom 
in  a  worldly  form.  We  here  find  the  principle,  that  God's 
work  is  to  be  accomplished  purely  as  his  work  and  by  his 
power,  without  foreign  aid ;  so  that  it  shall  all  be  only  a  share 
of  the  worship  rendered  to  him  alone. 

"  We  find,  then,  in  the  facts  of  the  temptation  the  expression 
of  that  period  that  intervened  between  Christ's  private  life  and 
his  public  ministry.  These  inward  spiritual  exercises  bring 
out  the  self-determination  which  stamps  itself  upon  all  his  sub- 
sequent outward  actions.  Yet  we  dare  not  suppose  in  him  a 
choice,  which,  presupposing  within  him  a  point  of  tangency 
for  evil,  would  involve  the  necessity  of  his  comparing  the  evil 
with  the  good,  and  deciding  between  them.  In  the  steadfast 
tendency  of  his  inner  life,  rooted  in  submission  to  God,  lay  a 
decision  which  admitted  of  no  such  struggle.  He  had,  in  com- 
mon with  humanity,  that  natural  weakness  which  may  exist 
without  selfishness,  and  the  created  will,  mutable  in  its  own 
nature ;  and  only  on  this  side  was  the  struggle  possible  —  such 
a  struggle  as  man  may  have  been  liable  to,  before  he  gave 
seduction  the  power  of  temptation  by  its  own  actual  sin.  In 
all  other  respects,  the  outward  seductions  remained  outward  ; 
they  found  no  selfishness  in  him,  as  in  other  men,  on  which  to 
seize,  and  thus  become  internal  temptations,  but,  on  the  con- 


76  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

trary,  only  aided  in  revealing  the  complete  unity  of  the  divine 
and  human,  which  formed  the  essence  of  his  inner  life. 

"  Nor  is  it  possible  for  us  to  imagine  these  temptations  origin- 
ated within  ;  to  imagine  that  Chris-t,  in  contemplating  the  course 
of  his  future  ministry,  had  an  internal  struggle  to  decide  whether 
he  should  act  according  to  his  own  will,  or  in  self-denial  and 
submission  to  the  will  of  God.  We  have  seen,  from  the  third 
temptation,  that,  from  the  very  beginning,  he  regarded  the 
establishment  of  a  worldly  kingdom  as  inseparable  from  the 
worship  of  the  devil ;  he  could,  therefore,  have  had  no  struggle 
to  choose  between  such  a  kingdom,  outward  and  worldly,  and 
the  true  Messiah-kingdom,  spiritual,  and  developed  from  within, 

"  Even  the  purest  man,  who  has  a  great  work  to  do  for  any 
age,  must  be  affected  more  or  less  by  the  prevailing  ideas  and 
tendencies  of  that  age.  Unless  he  struggle  against  it,  the  spirit 
of  the  age  will  penetrate  his  own ;  his  spiritual  life  and  its 
products  wilt  be  corrupted  by  the  base  admixture.  Now,  the 
whole  spirit  of  the  age  of  Christ  held  that  Messiah's  kingdom 
was  to  be  of  this  world,  and  even  John  Baptist  could  not  free 
himself  from  this  conception.  There  was  nothing  within 
Christ  on  which  the  sinful  spirit  of  the  age  could  seize ;  the 
divine  life  within  him  had  brought  every  thing  temporal  into 
harmony  with  itself;  and,  therefore,  this  tendency  of  the  times 
to  secularize  the  theocratic  idea  could  take  no  hold  of  him.  But 
it  was  to  press  upon  him  from  without :  from  the  beginning, 
this  tendency  threatened  to  corrupt  the  idea  and  the  develop- 
ment of  the  kingdom  of  God,  and  Christ's  work  had  to  be  kept 
free  from  it ;  moreover,  the  nature  of  his  own  Messianic  minis- 
try could  only  be  fully  illustrated  by  contrast  with  this  possible 
objective  mode  of  action ;  to  which,  foreign  as  it  was  to  his 
own  spiritual  tendencies,  he  was  so  frequently  to  be  urged 
afterward  by  the  prevailing  spirit  of  the  times." 

From  an  early  period  in  his  sublunary  course,  our  Re- 
deemer "suffered,  being  tempted  ;"  but  with  strong  hope  and 
patient  endurance,  he  resisted  the  most  crafty  onsets  of  the  foe. 


THE    MANHOOD    OF    CHRIST.  77 

The  divinity  of  his  nature  was  firm  as  the  eternal  throne,  while 
the  sensibilities  he  bore,  swayed  by  all  the  innocent  infirmities 
of  humanity,  were  as  lovely  and  flexible  as  a  rose-bough  waving 
in  the  breeze.  It  was  only  so  far  as  he  was  intrinsically 
divine  that  he  was  competent  to  redeem ;  it  was  by  resisting 
in  his  own  person  the  evils  we  incur  that  he  could  best  open 
a  way  of  deliverance  and  teach  us  how  to  overcome.  He  thus 
"  fought  to  protect,  and  conquered  but  to  bless  ; "  each  battle 
being  directed  against  our  common  adversary,  whose  tempta- 
tions, under  the  guise  of  wealth  and  dominion,  are  hardest  to 
resist.  Thankful,  indeed,  should  we  be  that  we  have  a  High 
Priest  who  is  touched  with  the  feeling  of  our  infirmities ;  who 
was  in  all  points  tempted  like  as  we  are,  yet  sinless.  It  is 
from  his  own  experience  that  Christ  speaks,  when  he  directs 
us  to  resist  the  devil  and  he  will  flee  from  us.  Every  hero, 
destined  to  struggle  against  the  powers  of  darkness  with  energy 
and  success,  will  first  be  most  sorely  tried  in  view  of  emolu- 
ments and  power,  proffered  by  the  great  enemy  of  good.  The 
church  too  much  neglects  its  most  gifted  sons.  But  when 
human  friendship  is  dumb,  and  earthly  resources  are  all  sealed, 
how  sweet,  in  the  sadness  of  young  hopes  oppressed,  to  hear 
Jesus  whisper,  "  Be  of  good  cheer ;  I  have  conquered  the 
world!" 

How  did  Christ  resist  the  temptations  of  power?  He  made 
himself  his  own  fountain  of  honor,  and  guarded  that  fountain 
with  strength  derived  from  on  high.  He  was  the  root  of  Jesse, 
the  offspring  of  mightiest  kings,  the  herald  and  pledge  of  the 
greatest  renown ;  but  so  far  from  boasting  of  royalty,  he  ever 
scorned  to  assume  the  airs  of  superiority.  It  seemed  to  be  his 
purpose  to  demonstrate  before  all  the  world  that  it  is  only  in 
personal  merit  that  genuine  distinction  lies,  —  that  one  can  no 
more  invest  himself  with  ancestral  fame,  than  he  can  clothe 
himself  in  the  beams  of  yesterday's  sun,  which  departed  with 
the  sun  itself.  "  He  who  works  God-like,  works  for  his  brethren 
and  his  age  ;  purifies  his  own  blood  beyond  all  the  factitious 
quackery  of  heralds,  and  the  lies  of  fashion ;  he  makes  it  a 
7* 


78  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

foundation  of  honor  to  himself  and  his  children,  if  they  follow 
in  his  steps;  —  of  shame  to  them,  if  they  depart  from  them. 
He,  and  he  alone,  is  the  noble.  He  alone  carries  God's 
patent  in  his  hand,  the  star  of  unflecked  honor  in  his  heart ; 
and  all  besides,  though  they  number  ancestors  by  thousands, 
are  but  wretched  impostors,  and  presumers  on  a  lie. 

"That  old  boast 
Of  blood  is  but  opinion's  idle  brag, 
And  nature  knows  no  'scutcheons," 

Jesus  Christ,  in  the  discipline  of  his  early  manhood,  the  type 
of  all  redemption,  from  the  most  sombre  depths  of  obscurity 
rose  before  men  and  angels,  developing  the  attractiveness  of 
infinite  worth,  nurtured  amid  trials  of  every  sort,  like  a  sea- 
flower,  whose  roots  interlace  and  penetrate  the  profoundest 
caverns,  but  whose  stem  mounts  through  unfathomed  billows 
to  the  surface,  and  unfolds  its  petals  to  wanderers  in  storm  and 
calm.  His  royalty  began  in  the  nakedness  and  gloom  of  the 
manger,  was  educated  through  a  career  of  incessant  toil,  fa- 
tigues, and  watchings,  in  which  the  rising  Champion  gathered 
a  few  palms  and  acclamations  from  the  masses,  between  whom 
and  himself  there  was  cordial  love,  until  bigoted  power  inter- 
posed. But  these  were  soon  followed  by  the  maledictions 
which  kingcraft  and  priestcraft  had  inspired,  the  anguish  of  the 
garden  and  the  tortures  of  the  pretorium.  Finally,  bowed 
beneath  the  cross  he  bore,  his  brow  being  wreathed  with  a 
diadem  of  thorns,  and  his  lips  redolent  of  blessings  on  his 
murderers,  he  goes  forth  to  expire  on  the  mount  which  over- 
looked Tophet,  that  type  of  hell,  whose  powers  he  came  to 
conquer  and  destroy. 

In  the  above  description,  we  have  limited  our  views  mainly 
to  the  discipline  which  our  Lord  experienced  anterior  to  his 
public  life,  in  which,  we  think,  his  most  manly  energies  were 
educed,  and  a  divine  example  of  consecrated  genius  was 
displayed. 


CHAPTER    IV. 

CHRIST    AS    A    PREACHER. 

IN  HIS  PUBLIC  LIFE,   THE  BENEFICENT   CHAMPION   OP    UNIVEKSAL 
RIGHTS. 

In  his  advent,  Christ  identified  himself  with  the  lowly  con- 
dition in  which  the  masses  of  mankind  are  born.  In  his  youth, 
he  was  occupied  in  toil  such  as  the  great  majority  of  men  pur- 
sue. In  his  maturity,  he  was  trained  by  sufferings  such  as 
mankind  in  general  are  doomed  to  endure.  These  are  points 
elsewhere  discussed.  It  is  our  present  purpose  to  consider  the 
character  of  our  Lord  as  a  preacher. 

Having  passed  through  the  preparatory  discipline  requisite 
to  the  Messianic  office,  and  having;  spoken  to  his  disciples  in 
private,  he  enters  upon  his  public  career.  Popular  attention  is 
excited  ;  persons  of  every  age,  sex,  and  condition  are  ad- 
dressed ;  and  this  extraordinary  Teacher  draws  around  him 
crowds  of  men  who  never  leaned  on  the  bosom  of  a  loving 
master,  were  never  instructed  in  the  language  of  sympathy 
and  friendship,  but  who,  despite  the  power  of  depraved  pas- 
sion and  prejudice,  now  listen  with  attention  the  most  profound, 
and  with  delight  openly  declared.  The  most  significant  and 
valuable  encomium  on  record,  respecting  preaching,  is  the  tes- 
timony of  Mark,  that  the  common  people,  the  miscellaneous 
multitudes,  heard  Jesus  gladly.  We  interpret  this  fact  by  sup- 
posing that  he  addressed  a  common  nature,  aroused  common 
emotions,  and  imparted  common  blessings.  Christ  addressed 
a  common  nature,  since  he  shared  our  human  condition  in  all 
its  wants,  and  respected  it ;  he  aroused  common  emotions,  be- 
cause his  own  sympathies  were  excited,  and  his  esteem  for  our 
ruined  race  was  legitimately  exemplified  ;  and  he  imparted 
common  blessings  through  labors  for  the  redemption  of  the 


80  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

common  people  which  were  most  intense,  and  by  the  exercise 
of  love  towards  them  in  every  respect  the  most  impartial.  Let 
us  examine  these  points  consecutively. 

Our  primary  remark  is,  that  the  multitudes  who  attended  the 
ministry  of  Christ  heard  him  with  delight  because  he  addressed 
a  nature  common  to  them  all.  He  was  qualified  to  do  this 
effectively  for  two  especial  reasons. 

First,  he  shared  our  human  condition  in  all  its  wants.  We 
believe  that  the  true  humanity  of  the  Son  of  God  is  as  fun- 
damental an  article  of  Christian  doctrine  and  consolation  as 
his  true  divinity.  To  say  that  Christ  was  not  real  man,  we 
regard  as  heterodox  as  that  he  was  not  real  God.  Scripture 
describes  him  as  being  at  one  time  "  in  the  form  of  God"  and 
at  another  as  "  being  in  the  form  of  man."  The  expression 
is  exactly  the  same  when  applied  to  the  preexistent  state  of  our 
Lord,  and  when  describing  his  incarnate  condition.  The  pro- 
priety of  this  is  seen  in  the  necessity  of  the  case.  He  is  a 
mediator  between  God  and  man ;  and  "  a  mediator  is  not  a 
mediator  of  one,"  but  must  partake  of  the  nature  of  both. 
The  most  comforting  and  upholding  truth  in  the  Bible,  consists 
in  the  fact  that  the  Redeemer  is,  in  the  strictest  and  most  en- 
dearing sense,  our  kinsman.  We  may  often  have  occasion  to 
resist  erroneous  doctrines  touching  the  humanity  of  Christ , 
but  we  should  neither  underrate,  nor  overlook,  this  grand  truth 
of  salvation  —  that  the  Son  of  God  became  as  truly,  and  as 
literally,  human,  as  the  beings  he  came  to  redeem  are  human. 
We  cannot,  and  we  need  not,  allow  that  there  was  in  him  that 
fountain  of  evil  which  there  is  in  ourselves.  "  We  contend 
that  the  absence  of  the  fountain,  and  not  the  mere  prevention 
of  the  outbreak  of  its  waters,  is  indispensable  to  the  constitu- 
tion of  such  purity  as  belonged  to  the  holy  child  Jesus.  But 
that  he  was  like  myself  in  all  points,  my  sinfulness  only  ex- 
cepted ;  that  his  flesh,  like  mine,  could  be  lacerated  by  stripes, 
wasted  by  hunger,  and  torn  by  nails ;  that  his  soul,  like  mine, 
could  be  assaulted  by  temptation,  harassed  by  Satan,  and  dis- 
quieted under  the  hidings  of  the  countenance  of  the  Father ; 


CHRIST   AS   A   PREACHER.  81 

that  he  could  suffer  every  thing  which  1  can  suffer,  except  the 
remorse  of  a  guilty  conscience  ;  that  he  could  weep  every  tear 
which  I  can  weep,  except  the  tear  of  repentance  ;  that  he 
could  fear  with  every  fear,  hope  with  every  hope,  and  joy  with 
every  joy,  which  I  may  entertain  as  a  man,  and  not  be  ashamed 
of  as  a  Christian  ;  —  there  is  our  creed  on  the  humanity  of  the 
Mediator.  If  you  could  once  prove  that  Christ  is  not  perfect 
man,  —  bearing  always  in  mind  that  sinfulness  is  not  essential 
to  this  perfectness,  —  there  would  be  nothing  worth  battling  for 
in  the  truth  that  Christ  was  perfect  God  ;  the  only  Redeemer 
who  can  redeem,  like  the  Goel  under  the  law,  my  lost  heritage, 
being  necessarily  my  kinsman  ;  and  none  being  my  kinsman 
who  is  not  of  the  same  nature,  born  of  a  woman,  of  the  sub- 
stance of  that  woman,  my  brother  in  all  but  rebellion,  myself 
in  all  but  unholiness." 

Various  reasons  have  been  suggested  why  Christ  styled 
himself  the  "  Son  of  man : "  probably  the  best  was  his  con- 
scious relation  to  the  human  race  —  a  relation  which  stirred  the 
very  depths  of  his  heart.  He  called  himself  the  "  Son  of 
man "  because  he  had  appeared  as  a  man ;  because  he  be- 
longed to  mankind  ;  because  he  had  done  such  great  things 
even  for  human  nature,  (Matt.  ix.  8 ;)  because  he  was  to  glo- 
rify that  nature  ;  because  he  was  himself  the  realized  ideal  of 
humanity. 

Says  Schleiermacher  of  the  title  "  Son  of  man,"  "  Christ 
would  not  have  adopted  it  had  he  not  been  conscious  of  a 
complete  participation  in  human  nature.  Its  application  would 
have  been  pointless,  however,  had  he  not  used  it  in  a  sense 
inapplicable  to  other  men  ;  and  it  was  pregnant  with  reference 
to  the  distinctive  differences  between  him  and  them."  As  has 
been  suggested,  the  fundamental  idea  of  the  title  is,  perhaps, 
allied  to  that  involved  in  the  Jewish  designation  of  Messiah 
as  the  "  second  Adam  ;  "  but  it  is  clear  that  Christ  was  not 
led  by  this  fact  alone  to  adopt  it.  "  Much  rather  do  we  sup- 
pose that  the  name,  although  used  by  the  prophets,  received 
its  loftier  and  more  profound  signification  from  Christ's  own 


82  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

divine  and  human  consciousness,  independent  of  all  other 
sources.  It  would  have  been  the  height  of  arrogance  in  any 
man  to  assume  such  a  relation  to  humanity,  to  style  himself 
absolutely  Man.  But  He,  to  whom  it  was  natural  thus  to  style 
himself,  indicated  thereby  his  elevation  above  all  other  sons  of 
men  —  the  Son  of  God  in  the  Son  of  Man." 

The  time  arrives  when  the  Redeemer  should  manifest  him- 
self more  openly  to  the  world :  he  emerges  from  the  artisan's 
shop,  through  a  long  and  varied  course  of  experience,  rises 
naturally  into  the  sphere  of  beneficent  action,  and  his  public 
life  has  commenced.  He  instructs,  reproves,  commands,  and 
exercises  all  the  functions  connected  with  our  social  condition. 
The  cares  of  authority,  the  fatigues  of  power,  and  all  the 
yearnings  of  charity  divine,  were  exemplified  in  him.  In  sol- 
itude he  has  garnered  every  sentiment  that  is  pure,  and  in 
practical  efforts  to  do  good  he  has  rendered  himself  skilful  in 
the  use  of  all  the  means  adapted  powerfully  to  move  mankind. 
Filial  love  dwells  in  his  bosom,  intimately  blended  with  chaste 
friendship  and  generous  compassion.  He  shares  in  the  joys 
and  griefs  of  all  around  him ;  mingles  in  the  festivity  at  Cana, 
and  anon  passes  forty  days  in  the  desert  without  either  com- 
panion or  food.  Vicissitudes  of  joy  and  grief,  complacency 
and  indignation,  sweep  over  him  as  over  other  men.  Cal- 
umny, treason,  and  dark  ingratitude  pursue  him  at  one  mo- 
ment, and  boisterous  applause  hails  him  the  next.  Envious 
priests  spread  vengeful  nets  in  his  private  paths,  and  state 
tyrants  plot  more  publicly  to  destroy  his  life.  He  experienced 
every  form  of  favor  and  hate,  serene  confidences  as  well  as 
sombre  despair,  and  in  his  own  destiny  wrought  out  the  desti- 
nies of  all  our  race.  Truly  did  he  carry  our  sorrows  and 
experience  our  griefs  ;  and  it  was  this  practical  knowledge  that 
gave  him  unlimited  popular  power.  He  addressed  no  peculiar 
or  limited  order  of  feelings,  but  united  in  his  discourse  all  the 
qualities  and  emotions  which  are  spontaneous  in  every  order 
and  condition  of  mankind.  His  audience  was  coextensive 
with  humanity   itself,   because    his   experience    included  the 


CHRIST   AS   A    PREACHER.  83 

experiences  of  all,  and  as  his  heart  thrilled  and  responded  to 
their  own,  he  verified  in  the  highest  sense  the  saying  that  "one 
touch  of  nature  makes  the  whole  world  kin." 

Hence  the  mercifulness  and  wisdom  of  Christ's  incarnation ; 
he  must  assume  the  form,  and  experience  the  condition,  of  a 
servant,  that  he  might  bind  our  hearts  to  eternal  life  with  the 
trembling  fibres  of  his  own.  Even  for  those  fledged  souls  who 
desire  to  soar  upon  the  wings  of  devout  meditation,  it  is  well, 
from  time  to  time,  Antaeus  like,  to  rest  upon  this  grosser  sphere  ; 
it  was  infinitely  more  necessary  that  he  who  came  to  elevate 
us  from  earth  to  heaven  should  absorb  into  his  own  person,  and 
destroy  the  oppressions  of  our  present  state,  that  we  might  have 
both  space  and  power  to  rise.  This  he  did.  He  became  the 
son  and  companion  of  the  common  people ;  was  born  in  a 
town  proverbially  depraved  ;  of  a  nation  preeminently  distin- 
guished for  superstition,  national  pride,  bigoted  self-esteem,  and 
contempt  towards  all  other  men.  He  chose  to  arise  "  in  an  age 
of  singular  corruption,  when  the  substance  of  religion  had 
faded  out  from  the  mind  of  its  anointed  ministers,  and  sin  had 
spread  wide  among  a  people  turbulent,  oppressed,  and  down- 
trodden ;  a  man  ridiculed  for  his  lack  of  knowledge,  in  this 
nation  of  forms,  of  hypocritical  priests  and  corrupt  people, 
falls  back  on  simple  morality,  simple  religion,  unites  in  him- 
self the  sublimest  precepts  and  divinest  practices ;  thus  more 
than  realizing  the  dream  of  prophets  and  sages  ;  rises  free 
from  all  prejudice  of  his  age,  nation,  or  sect ;  gives  free  range 
to  the  spirit  of  God  in  his  breast ;  sets  aside  the  law,  sacred 
and  time-honored  as  it  was  —  its  forms,  its  sacrifice,  its  temple, 
and  its  priests  ;  puts  away  the  doctors  of  the  law,  subtle, 
learned,  irrefragable,  and  pours  out  a  doctrine  beautiful  as  the 
light,  sublime  as  Heaven,  and  true  as  God.  The  philosophers, 
the  poets,  the  prophets,  the  Rabbis  —  he  rises  above  them  all. 

Christ  was  greater,  more  popular  as  a  teacher,  than  those 
who  preceded  him,  because  he  was  more  manly,  imbued  with 
more  natural  dignity  and  grace.  He  habitually  spoke  as  a 
being  related  to  all  whom  he  addressed.     He  never  arrogated 


84  REPUBLICAN   CHRISTIANITY. 

to  himself  superiority  over  the  humblest,  and  a  narrower 
sphere  than  the  whole  world  for  the  exercise  of  his  benevolent 
regards  seems  never  to  have  entered  his  thoughts.  This 
native  tone  of  grandeur  and  love  which  pervaded  his  teaching 
was  duly  impressed  on  his  hearers.  He  breathed  more  energy 
into  them  than  did  common  teachers,  because  he  had  more  to 
breathe ;  and  they  in  turn  were  inclined  to  manifest  esteem  for 
him  proportioned  to  the  natural  enthusiasm  he  kindled  in  their 
souls.  The  multitudes  pressed  upon  his  steps,  published  his 
glory,  and  diffused  his  fame  all  around.  Until  corrupted  by 
priestcraft,  and  suborned  by  aristocratic  power,  the  common 
people  spread  their  garments,  and  cast  palm  branches  in  the 
triumphal  way  of  the  great  Teacher  whom  they  adored. 

Secondly,  Christ  not  only  shared  our  human  condition  in  all 
its  wants,  but  he  profoundly  respected  it ;  and  this  was  another 
secret  of  his  great  popular  power.  He  recognized  the  fact  that, 
whatever  may  be  the  feebleness  of  man  and  his  degree  of 
corruption,  the  immortal  principle  within,  which  reminds  him 
of  his  origin  and  destiny,  never  loses  its  empire  upon  the  soul ; 
a  deathless  fibre  forever  remains  in  the  heart  to  vibrate  to  the 
influence  of  true  religion.  Connected  with  this  is  another  fact 
of  great  importance :  it  is,  that  the  common  people  are  com- 
petent to  appreciate  the  profoundest  truths  that  any  teacher 
can  distinctly  state.  Not  many  mighty,  not  many  noble,  in 
this  world's  estimation,  become  the  disciples  of  Christ,  be- 
cause they  rely  more  on  mind,  the  faculty  of  pride,  than  on 
love,  the  faculty  of  devotion.  In  the  day  of  judgment,  many  a 
peasant  will  appear  more  imbued  with  faith  and  light  than  the 
doctors  of  the  law,  because  affection  sees  farther  than  intellect ; 
and  when  the  soul  yields  to  her  mild  but  potent  influence, 
truth  accompanies  her  flight,  as  an  eagle  seizes  her  little  ones 
upon  her  back  and  bears  them  to  the  sun. 

It  is  the  plain,  practical,  and  yet  profound  common  sense  of 
the  masses,  that  saves  the  world  when  statesmen  and  men  of 
genius  fail  in  their  mission,  and  betray,  with  the  cause  of  God, 
the   cause  of  humanity.     It  is  reason   in   the   toil-worn  and 


CHRIST   AS   A    PREACHER.  85 

suffering  which  counteracts  ambitious  diplomacy  and  the  vaga- 
ries of  inexperienced  abstractionists.  It  is  the  people,  the  great 
masses,  between  whom  and  Jesus  were  such  mutual  sentiments 
of  esteem,  who  in  every  age  receive  from  God  the  instinctive 
wisdom  necessary  to  resist  the  treason  against  popular  rights 
which  the  masters  of  the  world  employ  all  their  resources  to 
execute.  This,  the  heroical  aspect  of  human  nature,  Christ 
respected,  as  he  did  every  thing  interesting  and  great  in  man. 
Those  profound  aspirations,  latent  in  every  mind,  and  which  the 
thoughtful  keenly  feel  compelling  them  to  live  in  the  past  as 
well  as  the  future,  Christ  did  not  despise ;  on  the  contrary,  he 
incurred  the  deepest  opprobrium,  and  suffered  the  greatest  sac- 
rifice, that  he  might  bestow  on  our  race  a  religion  adapted  to 
educe  all  our  faculties,  and  impart  to  them  the  divinest  growth. 
He  would  deliver  from  all  oppression,  and  conduct  us  out  of 
the  regions  of  contracted  perception  into  the  unbounded  do- 
mains of  enjoyment  and  thought.  The  soul  pants  for  the 
unlimited  and  undying  with  a  thirst  which  human  objects  can- 
not assuage.  From  the  beginning,  as  Novalis  remarks,  "  every 
science  had  its  god,  which  was  its  end.  Philosophers  sought 
the  unlimited,  though  they  found  only  what  is  limited.  They 
sought  infinity,  though  they  found  only  things."  But  Christ 
brought  to  earth  the  elements  of  a  nobler  science,  free  for  all, 
and  opened  for  every  devotee  instructions  the  most  satisfying 
and  sublime.  They  were  in  harmony  with  the  deepest  wants 
of  the  human  heart  and  intellect ;  with  the  idea  of  perfection 
which  slumbers  there,  and  which,  by  his  teachings,  is  awak- 
ened to  reality  and  consciousness.  Man  every  where  requires 
not  merely  intellectual  excitement  and  luxury,  but  an  adoration, 
which  humbles,  sanctifies,  and  regenerates  his  higher  powers : 
this  was  the  prerogative  of  Him  who  is  higher  than  all  the 
sources  of  mere  genius,  and  who  came  to  the  weary  and 
heavy-laden  people  that  they  might  freely  drink  of  the  waters 
of  life.  His  words  were  spirit  and  vivifying  power  to  the  lis- 
tening multitudes.  He  profoundly  respected  every  vestige  of 
God  in  man,  feeling  that  the  feeblest  intellectual  life,  of  which 
8 


86  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

obedience  is  the  law,  is  but  a  participation  of  the  supreme 
reason,  a  full  consent  to  the  testimony  which  Jehovah  has  him- 
self rendered  to  his  creature.  All  created  intelligences  are 
animated  by  rays  of  the  eternal  intelligence,  that  divine  reason 
which  communicates  itself  through  the  words  of  Christ,  and  is 
the  cause  of  that  divine  life  of  which  faith  is  the  essential 
mode.  The  mortal  combat  of  the  flesh  against  the  spirit  goes 
ever  on,  and  Christianity  comes  with  its  mighty  energies  to 
emancipate,  enlighten,  and  transform  the  soul  —  a  task  effect- 
ually accomplished  because  the  agency  employed  is  but  the 
assemblage  and  manifestation  of  all  the  truths  useful  to  man. 

They  who  do  not  profoundly  respect  the  worth  and  capa- 
bilities of  the  common  people,  are  always  themselves  unwor- 
thy of  being  confided  in.  The  mind  of  the  masses  may  often 
be  quite  uncultivated,  but  its  instincts  are  always  sure,  and  they 
never  long  adhere  to  leaders,  or  eulogize  talents,  which  are 
not  destined  to  enduring  fame.  The  multitude,  in  its  igno- 
rance, is  wiser  than  philosophers  crippled  and  perverted  by 
factitious  learning,  because  it  will  not  shut  its  eyes  to  that  light, 
truly  natural,  which  shines  in  the  midst  of  the  world,  and 
enlightens  all  who  are  sincere.  Who  gave  the  signal  of  revolt 
against  Jehovah,  and  provoked  those  calamities,  the  record  of 
which  is  so  frightful?  Kings,  and  their  courtiers,  the  leaders 
of  schools,  and  the  priests  of  a  party.  Such  have  ever  been 
the  instruments  of  supreme  selfishness,  and  the  chief  destroyers 
of  popular  rights.  They  have  always  persecuted  and  op- 
pressed humanity,  as,  under  the  false  and  lying  protection  of 
hypocritical  sovereignty,  they  betrayed  Christ  to  their  pretorium, 
crowned  him  with  a  diadem  of  thorns,  and,  after  having  ren- 
dered his  sacred  head  gory  with  their  blows,  knelt  before  him, 
exclaiming,  We  salute  thee,  King  of  the  Jews  ! 

On  the  contrary,  who  pressed  around  Christ,  on  the  moun- 
tains, by  the  sea,  and  in  desert  places,  to  listen  with  profound 
respect  to  his  instructions  ?  The  people.  Who  wished  to 
choose  him  for  ruler  supreme,  in  the  greatest  transports  of  pop- 
ular admiration  crying,  "  Hosanna,  blessed  is  he  that  cometh  in 


CHRIST   AS    A   PREACHER.  87 

the  name  of  the  Lord  ?  "  The  people.  Ay,  who  was  it  that 
professed  to  be  scandalized  because  he  healed  the  sick  on  Sab- 
bath days,  and  thereupon  interrogated  him  insidiously,  that  they 
might  entrap  him  with  their  malice  and  destroy  his  life  ? 
Scribes  and  Pharisees,  the  tools  of  power  and  paragons  of 
bigotry.  Their  astute  and  cunning  hypocrisy  deceived  the 
people  even,  and  in  a  moment  of  popular  caprice  impelled 
them  to  demand  the  death  of  Him  who  had  nourished  them  in 
the  desert  with  seven  loaves,  who  gave  health  to  their  sick, 
sight  to  their  blind,  and  life  to  their  dead.  But  seeing  how  the 
heartless  aristocracies  of  church  and  state  had  deceived  the 
people,  as  the  serpent  deceived  Eve,  Jesus  prayed  his  Father, 
saying,  "  Father,  forgive  them ;  for  they  know  not  what  they  do." 

Thus  far  we  have  considered  how  that  Christ  addressed  our 
common  nature,  by  personally  sharing  its  wants  and  respecting 
its  capacities.     We  proceed  to  remark, — 

Secondly,  Christ  aroused  common  emotions,  so  that  the 
multitudes  heard  him  gladly.  This  result  was  produced  from 
two  causes  :  his  own  sympathies  were  excited,  and  his  esteem 
for  his  hearers  was  legitimately  exemplified. 

In  the  first  place,  Christ  aroused  common  emotions  of  interest 
and  delight,  because  his  own  sympathies  were  excited  in  be- 
half of  those  who  heard  him.  He  who  was  rich,  for  our  sakes 
became  poor.  He  chose  poverty,  and  laid  aside  all  the  outward 
appearances  of  high  station  and  power,  that  he  might  come 
near  to  the  multitudes  and  ingratiate  their  esteem.  At  the 
opening  of  his  ministry,  what  a  spirit  of  humanity  did  he 
breathe  in  the  festive  gathering  at  Cana  of  Galilee !  But  his 
chief  sympathies  are  with  the  ignorant,  the  sinful,  the  op- 
pressed, and  those  who  mourn  in  solitude.  He  drew  his  con- 
fiding disciples  and  the  common  people  into  the  most  intimate 
relations  with  himself;  journeyed  with  them  on  foot,  com- 
muned with  them  as  a  loving  equal,  slept  in  their  houses,  sat 
at  their  tables,  partook  of  their  frugal  fare,  and  poured  upon 
their  minds  the  highest  truth  in  the  simplest  forms.  He  came 
to  seek  and  to  save  that  which  was  lost,  and  his  awakened 


88  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

sympathies  were  the  unerring  guides  which  led  him  to  the 
needy  of  every  class.  It  was  this  combination  of  the  spirit  of 
humanity  in  its  tenderest  form,  with  native  glories  the  most  un- 
rivalled and  divine,  that  gave  Christ  such  a  hold  on  the  masses 
of  mankind.  He  was  evidently  anxious  to  see  the  cloud  of 
ignorance  and  superstition,  that  darkens  over  our  world,  rent, 
and  the  full  and  sanctifying  effulgence  of  truth  flaming  down 
into  the  chaos  and  torpidity  of  the  people's  being.  As  this 
was  a  true  feeling  on  his  part,  it  was  promptly  recognized  and 
acknowledged  on  theirs.  We  cannot  wonder  at  the  solicitude 
which  Christ  felt,  nor  at  the  applause  which  his  hearers  be- 
stowed. Ignorance  wears  a  fearful  aspect  to  one  whose  brain 
has  been  pierced  by  rays,  however  few  and  feeble,  of  a  purer 
and  more  beautiful  light  than  that  of  earth.  To  the  J3un  of 
Righteousness,  then,  how  revolting,  how  overwhelmingly  dis- 
tressing, must  be  the  sight  of  an  ignorant,  bigoted,  depraved 
being !  But  such  objects  never  repelled  the  active  beneficence 
of  his  hands,  nor  chilled  the  ardor  of  his  heart.  However 
grim  and  incongruous  might  be  such  a  spectacle  of  death  in 
life,  of  life  in  death,  Christ  saw  in  it  a  human  reality  fitted  to 
unseal  all  the  fountains  of  his  most  weeping  Godhead.  He 
regards  the  victim  of  lust,  and  fully  comprehends  how  depraved 
he  is.  The  serene  light  of  heaven  has  never  visited  his  soul ; 
but  a  lurid  glare,  engendered  of  the  most  loathsome  corrup- 
tions, has  flashed  on  his  senses,  and  when  he  takes  one  step 
more  desperate  than  the  rest,  it  is  only  when  that  glare  adds 
terror  to  his  dismal  path.  Nature  is  fierce  within  him,  and 
yet  he  is  not  natural ;  for  though  the  companionship  to  which 
he  seems  doomed  has  gifted  him  with  nothing  else,  it  has 
taught  him  ingenuity  in  vices.  But  does  Christ  despise  this 
brand  almost  consumed  ?  No  ;  to  his  eve  the  most  deplorable 
aspect  of  the  victim  is,  that  the  very  faculties  which  prove  and 
constitute  his  identity  with  the  Omnipotent  should  be  employed 
only  as  the  instruments  of  sin,  and  that  he  should  be  able  to 
sink  so  low  in  the  abyss  of  iniquity,  only  by  the  aid  of  those 
energies  which  were  generated  in  the  bosom  of  God  himself. 


CHRIST   AS   A   PREACHER.  89 

You  may  almost  hear  this  humane  Savior  in  every  such  case 
saying,  Here  is  a  brother,  bone  of  my  bone,  flesh  of  my  flesh, 
formed  in  the  same  exalted  image  as  the  best  of  his  race,  with 
the  same  mark  of  the  divine  upon  his  brow,  with  the  same 
traces  of  celestial  ancestry  all  through  his  soul ;  yet  he  crawls 
on,  unconscious  of  his  divinity,  in  bestial  degradation.  And 
shall  nothing  be  done  to  rescue  him  from  the  thrall  of  those 
appetites  he  unquestioning  obeys  ?  nothing  to  arouse  him  from 
a  slumber  grosser  and  more  gloomy  than  that  of  the  brutes  ? 
O,  yes;  even  in  the  most  stupid  and  most  depraved,  the  reli- 
gious sentiment  has  an  indestructible  vitality  ;  and  He  whom 
humanity  heard  with  delight  will  prove  his  claims  on  popular 
regard  by  breathing  hallowed  emotions  into  that  wretched 
brother's  heart.  It  was  from  condemnation,  from  sin  and  hell, 
that  he  came  to  save  us  ;  and  he  delivers  men  from  the  worst 
practices  and  the  most  fearful  doom,  even  though  they  have 
reached  the  lowest  degree  of  corruption,  and  grovel  at  the 
very  gates  of  the  eternal  pit. 

Christ  commanded  the  popular  ear,  because  he  sympathized 
with  the  popular  heart,  over  which  he  poured  his  tears,  and 
to  redeem  which  he  was  ready  to  shed  his  blood.  The  eternal 
laws  which  slumber  in  the  human  breast  he  awoke  into  free 
action,  and  expressed  with  a  clearness  and  power  forever 
unsurpassed,  developing, as  he  spoke,  "energetic  reason  and  a 
shaping  mind.1'  His  own  heart  melted  through  all  the  tones 
and  words  he  uttered ;  and  thus  he  engraved  the  noblest  senti- 
ments on  the  hearts  of  mankind  with  "  such  fiery  characters 
as  lightning  on  the  rocks  inscribeth."  He  impressed  through 
his  discourse  the  seal  of  life  and  action,  energizing  the  "  might 
that  slumbers  in  a  peasant's  arm,"  every  where  making  "  the 
fresh  air  blow  through  the  soul's  shut-up  mansion,"  that  each 
bosom  might  swell  as  rapturously,  and  each  mind  soar  as 
freely,  as  his  own. 

Jesus  Christ  fulfilled  his  ministry  in  the  streets  and  highways. 
He  did  not  seclude  himself  in  some  lonely  sanctuary,  but  toiled 
and  taught  constantly  among  the  masses,  in  the  midst  of  the 
8* 


90  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

world.  He  was  compassionate  toward  all  men,  and  was  par- 
ticularly attentive  to  the  most  destitute.  When  he  saw  the  mul- 
titudes, he  was  moved  with  tender  sympathy  on  their  behalf, 
because  they  had  neither  instruction  nor  support.  He  wept 
for  a  fallen  race,  not  with  the  tenderness  of  weakness,  but  of 
almighty  strength  ;  and  it  was  the  love  of  the  purest  among 
the  mighty,  the  mightiest  among  the  pure,  that  touched  the 
hearts  of  the  populace  and  swayed  them  as  the  whirlwind 
sways  summer  foliage.  His  object  was  not  to  compel,  but  pei*- 
suade  ;  to  gain  consent  where  consent  was  wanting  ;  to  make 
willing  what  before  was  reluctant ;  to  actuate  the  affections 
and  woo  their  force ;  to  make  man  say  "  yes,"  willingly  and 
with  joy,  in  a  matter  in  which  he  was  before  inclined  to  say 
"  no."  The  power  he  aimed  at  was  the  persuasion  of  crea- 
tures endowed  with  reason,  capable  of  faith,  and  strongly 
affected  by  passion  ;  accordingly  the  course  he  pursued  was 
harmonious  with  the  end  he  desired.  The  secret  of  his  in- 
fluence consisted  in  the  nature  of  the  religion  he  taught,  in 
its  depth  of  meaning  and  warmth  of  love,  in  its  perfect  sim- 
plicity and  universal  application.  He  expanded  into  innu- 
merable forms,  and  diversified  by  infinite  varieties  of  illustra- 
tion, the  great  truths  of  human  sinfulness  and  the  infinite 
fulness  of  divine  redemption.  He  humbled  himself  to  the 
condition  of  the  most  humble,  and  poured  out  the  greatest 
treasures  at  the  feet  of  the  most  indigent,  while  in  each  act  he 
was  never  formal,  but  fraternal,  under  the  guise  of  a  servant 
performing  the  functions  of  a  God.  He  knew  that  a  delicate 
and  close  net-work  of  sensibility  is  diffused  over  the  entire 
body  of  society,  rendering  it  susceptible  of  being  acted  upon 
at  every  point ;  and  along  this  he  poured  a  tide  of  his  own 
sympathy,  seeking  the  greatest  good  of  the  greatest  number, 
until  he  had  drawn  all  segments  of  the  great  circle  of  humanity 
to  one  central  spot,  the  throbbing  core  of  his  own  great  and 
benevolent  heart.  It  was  this  kind  of  address  that  aroused  in 
the  common  people  "  all  the  mysterious  world  of  eye  and  ear," 
making  them  to  hang  with  delight  uoon  the  lips  of  the  Son 


CHRIST   AS   A    PREACHER.  91 

of  God,  and  to  lean  fondly  towards  his  swelling  breast.  Each 
new  principle  he  announced  resounded  in  their  intelligence 
like  echoes  from  beyond  the  grave  ;  and  while  they  stood 
inth railed  by  the  splendor  of  a  truth  then  first  seen,  they  be- 
held in  it  a  glass  which  showed  them  many  more,  —  inter- 
minable vistas  of  glory,  joys  that  should  never  end.  It  was 
Christ  who  first  made  the  pulse  of  true  religion  beat  in  all  the 
arteries  of  the  common  heart,  and  caused  the  people  to  feel 
that,  invested  with  the  serene  and  blessed  atmosphere  of  his 
presence  and  instruction,  they  indeed  stood  in  "  the  presence 
chamber  of  the  King  of  kings." 

Let  us  remember  that  "  there  is  in  man  an  inward  con- 
sciousness of  worth,  not  individual,  but  generic,  which,  how- 
ever it  may  be  given  to  slumber,  is  almost  invariably  awakened 
by  the  show  of  sincere  reverence.  Pitiable  as  may  be  his  lot 
for  the  most  part ;  cheerless  and  dark  as  may  be  the  igno- 
rance in  which  he  lives ;  vitiated  and  vulgar  as  may  be  his 
appetites,  worthless  his  ordinary  pursuits,  and  perverse  his 
will,  —  he  yet  possesses  the  elements  of  a  noble  nature.  What 
susceptibilities  lie  buried  in  the  bosom  even  of  the  most 
degraded !  what  high-wrought  sympathies !  what  glorious 
powers  !  Woe  be  to  them  who  can  deliberately  insult  and 
despise  man,  clothed  in  any  garb,  or  presenting  himself  to 
view  under  colors  even  the  most  repulsive.  Ignorant  as  we 
may  perchance  find  him,  he  is,  nevertheless,  a  being  capable 
of  thought ;  malignant,  as  oftentimes  he  is,  he  was  yet  formed 
to  love.  There  is  nothing  deep  which  we  search  into,  nothing 
excellent  which  we  feel,  nothing  heroic  which  we  attempt, 
nothing  great  and  praiseworthy  which  we  do,  which  the  poor- 
est, meanest,  most  wretched  outcast  of  us  all,  might  not  search 
into,  feel,  attempt,  and  efFect.  Lift  him  out  of  very  abjectness 
of  spirit ;  do  homage,  as  becomes  his  fellow-mortal,  to  the 
imprint  of  divinity  still  visible  upon  his  soul ;  remind  him  of 
his  true  dignity,  by  gently  and  reverentially  appealing  to  the 
higher  attributes  of  his  nature  ;  bow  to  him  as  a  member, 
forgetful  though  he  may  have  been  of  his  relationship,  of  the 


92  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

same  family  to  which  you  yourself  claim  to  belong,  —  and 
some  4  touches  of  kin'  will  show  themselves.  A  new  life  will 
quicken  that  man's  heart.  The  obeisance  you  have  done  to 
his  nature,  and  to  the  image  of  God  which  you  discerned  there, 
if  rightly,  wisely,  feelingly  offered,  will  turn  his  attention, 
haply  for  the  first  time,  to  the  rich  worth  of  those  elements  of 
character,  which,  in  self-ignorance,  he  has  treated  with  cruel 
disrespect.  By  this  means  he  is  led  to  see  himself — to  feel 
his  own  powers  —  to  learn  the  secret  of  his  high  birth.  Other 
and  nobler  thoughts  than  those  with  which  he  has  heretofore 
busied  himself,  will  come  crowding  into  his  mind.  The 
respect  you  have  paid  him  will  apply  the  match  to  a  train  of 
new  aspirations.  You  will  have  aroused  that  consciousness 
within  him,  which  alone  can  look  round  upon  a  home  of  dark- 
ness and  disorder,  —  darkness  in  the  understanding,  and  dis- 
order in  the  passions,  —  and  exclaim  with  surprise  and  shame, 
4  What  misery  and  pollution  are  here  ! '  True,  that  new-born 
consciousness  may  die  again ;  but  surely  he  does  most  for 
human  nature,  whose  every  aim  is  to  keep  it  alive,  and  nourish 
and  strengthen  it,  until  it  can  bear  no  longer  to  dwell  amid 
scenes  so  revolting." 

Christ  best  knew  what  was  in  man,  and  he  was  so  bent 
on  developing  and  ennobling  his  torpid  powers,  that  gracious 
words  and  beneficent  deeds  were  as  common  to  him  as  vital 
air  and  daily  bread.  If  he  was  the  wisest  teacher  that  ever 
descended  from  heaven,  it  was  because  he  habitually  acted  on 
the  principle  that  the  religious  sentiment  in  human  beings  is 
the  mightiest  agent  on  earth.  To  give  this  a  proper  training, 
and  to  preserve  it  from  a  perverted  use,  was  his  constant  aim. 
To  accomplish  this  the  more  benignly,  and  with  the  widest 
advantage,  he  did  not  conduct  his  hearers  through  the  dubious 
region  of  conflicting  theories,  but  brought  them  at  once  into 
the  lucid  medium  of  absolute  truth  ;  by  word  and  action  he 
reached  their  intentions  through  his  own  deepest  and  most 
tender  consciousness,  without  permitting  any  intellectual  re- 
finements or  fastidious  niceties  of  the  brain  to  check  and  chill 


CHRIST    AS   A   PREACHER.  93 

their  outpouring.  His  ambition  was  to  teach  not  so  much  the 
new  as  the  true,  and  the  true  not  as  a  logical  formula  or  dog- 
matical proposition,  but  as  a  transparent  and  comprehensive 
religious  sentiment,  enlightening  the  conscience,  spiritualizing 
the  heart,  elevating  the  soul,  and  regenerating  the  entire 
family  of  man,  as  it  swept  outward  with  infinite  expansive- 
ness  to  embrace  the  world.  Hence,  in  the  gospel,  there  is 
the  calm  of  a  mighty  possession,  the  ravishing  peace  which 
follows  the  gratification  of  immense  desires,  the  tranquil 
serenity  of  heaven  even.  He  whom  the  earth  waited  for  so 
long  and  anxiously  has  come.  "  The  Word  was  made  flesh, 
and  dwelt  among  us ;  and  we  have  seen  his  glory,  the  glory 
of  the  only  Son  of  the  Father,  full  of  grace  and  truth." 
Under  his  auspices  all  assumes  a  new  appearance  ;  the  time 
of  symbols  is  passed ;  salvation  is  accomplished  ;  and  human 
nature,  having  won  confidence  in  itself  through  the  great  Re- 
deemer, experiences  a  calm  and  august  repose,  such  as  was 
never  known  before.  The  benighted  has  found  light  to  guide, 
the  feeble  imbibes  energy  to  sustain  ;  and  thus  fortified  with 
resources  from  on  high,  the  confiding  disciple  is  crowned  with 
a  divine  sovereignty,  "  like  Strength  reposing  on  his  own 
right  arm."  It  is  the  prerogative  and  glory  of  Christianity  to 
awaken  in  its  subjects  the  free,  earnest  exertion  of  their  pow- 
ers ;  to  kindle  inward  inspirations,  and  rouse  the  whole  soul 
to  a  healthful  activity  and  useful  life.  Therefore  its  nature  is 
not  arid  and  barren,  revealing  a  precise  and  frigid  doctrine 
which  admits  of  no  expansion,  and  feels  no  purifying  and 
guiding  fires  in  the  heart  and  intellect.  The  religion  which 
comes  from  the  Creator  of  the  human  soul,  which  is  adapted 
to  its  constitution,  and  which  honors  both  the  Maker  and  his 
work,  tends  perpetually  to  burst  its  limits  and  grow  forever. 
Christ  loved  the  people  because  they  were  common ;  because 
they  were  immortal  creatures,  men.  He  had  faith  in  their 
improvement,  and  labored  to  promote  within  all  "  the  fiery 
grandeur  of  a  generous  mind."  He  showed  himself  to  be 
eminently  the  friend  of  the  multitude ;  the  defender  of  popu- 


94  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

iar  rights,  as  well  as  the  foundation  of  eternal  hopes ;  and  by 
these  demonstrations  of  practical  goodness  he  took  a  power- 
ful hold  on  their  judgments  and  hearts.  He  made  popular 
impressions  through  preaching  and  practice,  that  was  replete 
with  love,  overflowing  with  mercy.  He  was  not  the  imper- 
sonation of  reason  so  much  as  affection  ;  he  dealt  not  so  much 
with  the  moonbeams  of  cold  dialectics,  as  with  the  brilliant 
sun-rays  of  fervid  benevolence.  He  bent  his  ear  to  every 
sigh,  put  forth  his  hand  to  relieve  every  want  of  the  distressed  ; 
and  even  when  he  had  departed,  it  was  natural  that  his  sym- 
pathetic tones  should  come  back  upon  the  popular  heart  again, 
thrilling  even  to  the  eye's  fountain.  Christ  addressed  him- 
self to  the  tendencies  of  our  nature  most  easily  awakened, 
whose  education  is  the  promptest,  and  whose  results  are  the 
most  enduring  ;  to  the  powers  of  enjoyment,  and  he  thereby 
won  souls  to  happiness  and  peace  ;  to  the  afTections,  and  thus 
captivated  them  by  love ;  to  conscience,  and  caused  it  to 
respond  to  the  instinctive  voice  of  the  moral  sense  ;  to  the 
religious  principle,  and  gave  it  the  amplest  means  of  redemp- 
tion and  eternal  progress.  In  every  miracle  he  performed  on 
matter  or  on  mind,  it  was  our  merciful  Savior's  purpose 

"To  raise  the  human  to  the  holy, 
To  wake  the  spirit  from  the  clay." 

We  have  said  that  Christ  aroused  common  emotions,  because 
his  own  sympathies  were  excited  on  behalf  of  the  multitudes. 
We  remark  further,  that  his  esteem  for  his  hearers  was  legiti- 
mately exemplified,  and  for  this  reason  especially  he  was 
heard  with  delight. 

Consider  the  mode  and  the  spirit  of  Christ's  teaching.  In 
the  first  place,  the  manner  in  which  he  addressed  the  people 
was  calculated  to  fix  their  attention  and  conciliate  their  belief. 
In  his  teaching,  says  an  American  writer,  "  he  was  wont  to  em- 
ploy a  great  variety  of  illustrations ;  sometimes  by  means  of 
short  and  pointed  similes ;  sometimes  more  expanded  parables ; 
and  sometimes  by  incidental  allusions  to  present  objects  and 
passing  occurrences  in  the  natural  world.     Scarcely  ever  does 


CHRIST    AS   A   PREACHER.  95 

he  teach  any  important  truth  without  making  use  of  some 
well-chosen  illustration,  to  render  it  more  clear  or  more  im- 
-pressive.  He  knew  the  mental  habits  of  the  people  to  whom 
his  preaching  was  addressed.  He  knew,  that  in  general  they 
were  not  a  cultivated  and  an  intellectual  people.  Their  con- 
ceptions were  gross,  and  they  needed  a  species  of  instruction 
which  should  make  much  use  of  their  senses  in  so  setting 
truth  before  their  minds  as  to  do  them  good,  and  he  adapted 
his  instructions  to  them  accordingly.  When  he  would  rebuke 
the  pride  of  man,  and  inculcate  on  his  disciples  the  need  of 
cultivating  a  lowly  and  confiding  temper  of  heart,  he  does  not 
merely  deliver  to  them  the  abstract  and  general,  though  all- 
important  truth,  that  man  must  be  converted  and  experience 
a  radical  transformation  of  character,  in  order  to  their  being 
saved  ;  but,  to  impress  this  sentiment  more  strongly,  he  takes 
a  little  child  and  sets  him  in  the  midst  of  them,  and  then  tells 
them  how  salvation  is  to  be  obtained  :  '  Verily  I  say  unto  you, 
Except  ye  be  converted,  and  become  as  little  children,  ye  shall 
in  no  case  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  God.  Whoso  receiveth 
not  the  kingdom  of  God  as  a  little  child,  he  shall  not  enter 
therein.''  When  he  would  teach  men  to  confide  in  the  all- 
governing  providence  of  God,  and  not  yield  to  impatience,  or 
discouragement,  or  unbelieving  fear,  he  summons  to  his  aid 
the  objects  of  Nature  around  him,  and  makes  the  dependence 
of  all  her  tribes,  animate  and  inanimate,  subservient  to  his 
design.  '  Consider  the  lilies  of  the  field.'  '  Consider  the 
ravens.'  Who  nourishes  them  ?  Who  gives  them  their  deli- 
cate clothing  ?  Who  protects  them  in  the  storm  ?  Who 
preserves  them  through  the  changing  seasons  ?  The  field, 
untrodden  by  the  foot  of  man,  and  uncultivated  by  human 
care,  has  flowers  surpassing  in  glory  the  richest  and  wisest  of 
earthly  kings  ;  but '  they  toil  not,  neither  do  they  spin.'  Who 
rears  and  upholds  these  little  and  delicate  structures  ?  '  If 
God  so  clothe  the  grass  of  the  field,  which  to-day  is,  and  to- 
morrow is  cast  into  the  oven,  shall  he  not  clothe  you,  O  ye 
of  little  faith  ? '     When  our  Savior  would  impress  upon  us  the 


96  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

duty  of  kindness  to  our  poor  neighbor,  and  tell  us  who  is  our 
neighbor,  he  relates  the  misfortune  of  a  Jew,  who  '  went  down 
from  Jerusalem  to  Jericho,  and  fell  among  thieves.'  Waylaid 
and  plundered  by  a  band  of  robbers,  he  is  left  upon  the  high- 
way, weltering  in  his  blood,  and  half  dead.  A  priest  and  a 
Levite  pass  by  that  way,  but  offer  no  aid  to  the  sufferer.  It 
is  a  Samaritan  that,  passing  by,  takes  pity  on  him  and  saves 
his  life.  What  a  beautiful  illustration  is  this,  to  show  us  who 
is  our  neighbor,  and  what  is  the  proper  conduct  which  is  due 
from  us  one  toward  another  in  any  circumstance  of  need ! 
When  he  would  make  known  to  us  the  real  feelings  of  our 
Creator,  and  of  all  holy  beings,  in  view  of  the  recovery  of  lost 
sinners,  he  gives  us  the  story  of  the  prodigal  son ;  and  thus 
refers  us  to  the  strongest  sensibilities  of  nature  within  us,  as  an 
illustration  of  the  paternal  interest  which  God  himself  takes 
in  beholding  one  of  his  lost  creatures  recovered  to  virtue  and 
to  happiness.  This  delightful  interest,  which  the  Creator 
himself  feels  in  receiving  back  to  his  favor  the  lost  sinner,  is 
represented  too  as  a  diffusive  common  interest,  felt  throughout 
the  heavenly  world.  What  a  vivid  impression  does  this  give 
us  of  the  importance  of  a  single  conversion !  In  what  other 
way  could  we  have  been  made  to  feel  this  fact  so  strongly,  or 
been  prompted  to  use  our  powers  so  earnestly,  in  spreading 
abroad  through  the  earth  the  means  of  salvation  to  our  fellow- 
men  !  When  he  would  teach  us  what  it  is  to  be  finally  lost 
from  God's  holy  kingdom,  or  finally  happy  in  his  favor,  what 
appalling  and  what  delightful  imagery  does  he  employ  !  The 
poor,  suffering  Lazarus,  coldly  and  disdainfully  repelled  from 
the  sympathies  of  his  fellow-men,  and  left  to  die  of  hunger 
at  the  gate  of  human  affluence,  because  no  man  would  give 
unto  him,  is  carried  by  angels  to  Abraham's  bosom.  Despised 
on  earth,  he  is  admitted,  beyond  the  grave,  to  the  intimate 
fellowship  of  the  c  father  of  the  faithful.'  Friendless  on  earth, 
when  he  dies,  he  is  admitted  to  the  bosom-confidence  and  com- 
munion of  the  '  friend  of  God.'  Angels  perform  the  office  of 
conducting  him  to  his  blissful  home.     How  exceedingly  does 


CHRIST    AS    A    PREACHER.  97 

the  imagery  here  employed  heighten  the  impression  of  the 
simple  truth  thereby  illustrated,  that  good  men,  however  neg- 
lected and  overlooked  on  earth,  will  be  honored  and  happy  in 
the  world  to  come  !  So,  too,  on  the  other  hand,  what  a  fear- 
ful picture  of  wretchedness  is  that  which  is  drawn  by  our 
Lord,  in  the  same  chapter,  as  descriptive  of  the  state  of  a 
wicked  man  after  death  ! " 

It  is  to  be  observed  that  the  miracles  which  Christ  performed 
were  designed  to  direct  popular  attention  to  his  doctrines  more 
than  to  his  person.  He  knew  that  the  fundamental  principles 
of  religion  which  he  taught  lay  so  near  to  the  reason  and  con- 
science of  mankind,  that  they  needed  only  to  have  their  atten- 
tion directed  towards  them,  in  order  to  secure  assent.  For  this 
reason,  Jesus  delivered  his  instructions  with  such  a  clearness 
and  simplicity,  such  an  energy  and  power,  that  they  commend- 
ed themselves  immediately  to  every  ingenuous  heart.  "  His 
instructions  exhibited  none  of  those  dialectical  subtilties,  deep 
speculations,  and  prolix  demonstrations,  which  abounded  in  the 
systems  of  the  old  philosophers,  and  rendered  them,  how  much 
soever  good  they  might  contain,  totally  unfit  for  the  multitude 
at  large.  The  most  important  truths,  which,  in  the  way  of 
speculation,  and  by  the  greatest  efforts  of  philosophizing  reason, 
had  either  not  been  discovered  at  all,  or  but  imperfectly,  were 
represented  by  Jesus  with  such  a  lucid  and  touching  simplicity, 
that  they  must  be  obvious  to  the  most  illiterate,  and  fill  the 
most  acute  thinkers  with  admiration.  At  the  same  time,  he 
delivered  them  as  the  instructions  and  expressions  of  God  him- 
self, and  thereby  clothed  them  with  that  authority,  every  where 
and  to  the  highest  degree  valid,  which  is  indispensable  to  the 
great  mass  of  people,  and,  with  them,  holds  the  place  of 
demonstration  and  the  profoundest  proofs,  without  prohibiting 
reason,  however,  from  laboring  further  upon  .them,  and  endeav- 
oring to  deduce  them  from  principles  peculiar  to  itself  alone." 

One  of  the  most  important  conditions  fulfilled  by  the  human 
life  of  our  Redeemer  was  that  of  showing  himself  to  be  our 
brother.  Under  this  character  he  always  appeared,  and  never 
9 


98  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

more  so  than  when  employed  in  teaching.  He  realized,  in  the 
presence  of  the  human  race,  an  ideal  of  human  perfection 
level  to  popular  comprehension  and  within  the  reach  of  all. 
In  his  person,  his  demeanor,  and  his  speech,  the  world  saw  the 
infinite  brought  down  to  our  standard,  so  realized  that  we  can 
easily  understand  it,  and  feel  the  majesty  and  beauty  of  that 
love  to  Christ  which  is  nothing  but  the  imitation  of  God  brought 
near  to  the  roused  intellect  and  heart.  We  cannot  wonder  that 
the  people  were  spell-bound  in  the  presence  of  such  a  teacher. 
The  pure  and  joyous  effulgence  of  truth  emanating  from  him 
must  have  captivated  their  vision,  like  the  sun  as  he  bathes 
with  his  beams  fragrant  vales  and  bleak  mountain-tops.  Christ 
was  radiant  with  celestial  benignity,  which  he  transfused  into 
the  surrounding  multitudes  through  the  simplest  expressions  and 
most  transparent  life,  fascinating  the  popular  heart,  and  lifting 
it  to  a  participation  of  immortal  bliss. 

But,  turning  from  the  form  of  his  teaching,  let  us  look  more 
particularly  to  its  spirit.  The  chief  element  of  Christ's  power 
lay  in  the  fact  that  he  thrilled  the  principle  of  perfectibility 
latent  in  every  rational  creature  whom  he  addressed.  By  his 
own  incarnation  he  glorified  humanity,  and  came  breathing  into 
every  recess  of  its  bleeding  and  aspiring  heart  nothing  but 
peace  and  love.  He  explained  the  possibility  of  our  being  one 
with  God,  and  presented  motives  for  our  becoming  grand  as 
eternity.  In  this  way  he  portrayed  the  soul  as  a  treasure  most 
precious,  which  the  universal  Father  bends  down  with  infinite 
solicitude  to  rescue,  ennoble,  and  forever  preserve.  "  My 
Father  worketh  hitherto,  and  I  work,"  said  he ;  and  his  inces- 
sant effort  was  to  elevate  souls,  by  revealing  to  them  the  gospel 
plan  of  spiritual  perfection.  All  his  labors  and  lessons  were 
designed  to  lift  up  the  fallen  race  of  Adam,  to  remove  every 
obstruction  in  the  way  of  moral  improvement,  and  to  show 
how  man  is  to  be  loved  as  God's  child,  a  creature  of  immortal- 
ity, a  temple  built  for  the  skies.  Of  all  teachers  Christ  was 
the  best,  of  all  reformers  the  wisest  and  most  beneficent ;  for 
his  thoughts  were  the  mightiest,  and  he  strove  with  divinest  zeal 


CHRIST    AS    A    PREACHER.  99 

to  plant  them  in  all  the  masses  of  mankind.  He  unfolded  the 
reality  of  spiritual  life,  his  example  the  best  model,  and  his 
teaching  the  only  sure  guide. 

The  doctrines  of  Christ  were  at  the  same  time  the  most  prac- 
tical and  profound.  His  precepts  were  level  to  the  capacities 
of  a  child,  and  yet  they  contained  principles  which  the  most 
matured  and  soaring  intellect  could  never  outrun.  These  were 
addressed  to  the  wants,  rather  than  to  the  worth,  of  their  recip- 
ients. Their  most  distinguishing  mark  was  a  fulness  of  gen- 
erosity ;  since  the  one  avowed  object  of  their  Author  was,  "  to 
do  good  and  to  communicate."  Like  a  delicious  air,  laden 
with  the  most  delicious  odors,  Christ  eveiy  where  made  his 
presence  manifest  by  the  joys  he  awakened  and  the  benefits  he 
conferred.  Sweet,  gentle,  conciliating,  and  yet  most  power- 
ful, he  approached  human  hearts  to  imbue  them  with  something 
of  his  own  divinity ;  and,  by  investing  them  with  his  own  spir- 
itualizing influences,  not  only  to  purify  and  gladden  them,  but 
to  make  them  the  almoners  of  like  blessings  to  all  other  men. 
From  first  to  last,  there  is  all  about  the  career  of  Christ  the 
highest  witchery  of  love.  Unasked  and  undesired,'he  sped  his 
flight  from  celestial  glory  earthward  in  search  of  moral  wretch- 
edness, that  he  might  relieve  its  woes.  Then,  with  a  bearing 
exquisitely  harmonious  with  his  mission,  in  unassuming  gentle- 
ness, he  knocked  at  the  door  of  sick  and  sorrowing  humanity  ; 
pityingly  lifted  the  latch  of  our  dilapidated  nature ;  spoke  in 
sympathizing,  soothing  accents  ;  and,  having  beguiled  the  faint- 
ing and  guilt-burdened  spirit  into  peace  and  hope  by  a  kiss  of 
forgiveness,  he  smilingly  displayed  a  store  of  inestimable  bless- 
ings, and  bade  us  welcome  to  the  eternal  feast.  He  knew  that 
the  soul  can  never  be  contented  to  be  fed  with  trifles  or 
amused  with  bawbles,  and  he  therefore  came  not  to  work  on  the 
surface  of  human  character,  but  to  pervade  it  with  himself, 
thus  rendering  it  divine.  He  would  breathe  into  the  soul  a 
heavenly  energy,  an  indomitable  force  of  will,  teaching  at  once 
the  love  of  wisdom  and  the  wisdom  of  love.  His  spirit  pos- 
sessed a  most  purifying  and  expanding  warmth,  because  "  a 


100  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

thousand  hearts  were  great  within  him  ;  "  and  he  was  the  glory 
of  all  spirits,  since  he  was  the  pattern  of  the  grandest  ideas. 
Every  speaker  who  would  be  influential  must  stir  in  the  bosom 
of  the  people  the  noble  sentiments  of  liberty,  equality,  and 
justice.  Christ  was  the  most  efficient  in  this  respect,  because 
he  invigorated  every  attribute  he  wrought  upon,  inspired  infinite 
hopes,  and  clothed  human  nature  with  unfading  righteousness 
and  majesty.  His  own  spirit  was  large  as  the  suffering  world 
he  came  to  save  ;  and,  in  all  his  vicarious  toils,  he  gathered 
bliss  in  seeing  the  needy  blessed.  The  principles  of  Chris- 
tianity are  adapted  to  man's  nature,  and  are  designed  to  make 
him  a  better  citizen,  kinder  associate,  truer  friend,  a  nobler 
being  every  way.  They  excel  all  other  influences,  not  in 
intensity  only,  but  in  extent ;  they  not  only  command,  at  one 
moment,  the  whole  spiritual  being,  but  retain  their  power 
through  the  whole  course  of  existence,  over  every  moment  of 
an  immortal  life.  They  appeal  to  the  thinking  faculty  of  man, 
no  less  than  to  his  heart  and  his  conscience,  making  all  our 
spiritual  faculties  to  partake  of  the  divine  nature,  to  be  filled 
with  all  the  fulness  of  God. 

Such  were  the  mode  and  spirit  of  his  teaching  whom  the 
common  people  gladly  heard,  and  who  aroused  in  them  emo- 
tions common  to  all,  because  his  own  sympathies  were  excited, 
and  his  esteem  for  his  hearers  was  legitimately  exercised. 
Herein  is  a  model  for  us  not  only  to  admire,  but  imitate ;  for 
such  must  every  disciple  be  who  would  honor  God  and  benefit 
mankind. 

"He  lives  and  breathes 
For  noble  purposes  of  mind  ;  his  heart 
Beats  to  heroic  things  of  ancient  days  ; 
His  eye  distinguishes,  his  soul  creates." 

We  have  considered  two  general  points  —  that  Christ  ad- 
dressed a  common  nature,  and  that  he  aroused  common  emo- 
tions in  the  masses  among  whom  he  moved.  It  remains, 
thirdly,  to  show  that  he  imparted  common  blessings,  and  that 
he  accomplished  this  through  labors  for  the  redemption  of  the 


CHRIST    AS   A   PREACHER.  101 

common  people  which  were  most  intense,  and  by  the  exercise 
of  love  for  them  in  every  respect  the  most  impartial. 

In  the  first  place,  the  labors  of  Christ  for  the  redemption  of 
the  common  people  were  most  intense,  and  this  caused  them  to 
receive  him  gladly.  The  world  was  divided  into  two  classes, 
the  rich  and  powerful  on  one  hand,  and  on  the  other  the  poor 
and  unfortunate.  There  was  no  middle  space.  The  Messiah 
comes,  and  behold  which  side  he  takes  !  He  confers  his  roy- 
alty and  divinity  mainly  upon  the  destitute.  "  He  is  poor," 
exclaims  the  prophet  Zechariah,  as  he  beheld  him  from  afar ; 
and,  declaring  his  own  mission,  "  The  Lord,"  said  he,  "  has 
sent  me  to  evangelize  the  poor."  His  precursor,  John,  sent 
disciples  to  question  him,  saying,  "Art  thou  he  that  should 
come,  or  is  it  necessary  to  expect  another?"  And  Christ 
responded,  "  Tell  John  what  you  have  heard  and  seen.  The 
blind  see,  the  lame  walk,  the  lepers  are  purified,  the  deaf  hear, 
the  dead  are  raised."  Is  this  all  ?  No.  Hear  the  crowning 
wonder !  u  The  poor  have  the  gospel  preached  to  them." 
That  is,  science,  light  that  is  truthful,  and  dignity  truly  divine, 
are  restored  to  that  immense  portion  of  humanity  who  had 
been  cruelly  deprived  of  these  gifts  designed  for  all.  Jesus 
Christ  never  formed  the  slightest  alliance  with  the  oppressors 
of  the  masses;  but,  sweeping  splendid  tyranny  from  his  path 
as  often  as  he  encountered  it,  he  exclaimed,  with  ineffable  ten- 
derness, "  I  thank  thee,  O  my  Father,  that  thou  hast  concealed 
these  things  from  the  educated  and  sagacious,  and  that  thou 
hast  revealed  them  unto  docile  little  ones."  In  a  word,  he 
established  between  himself  and  such,  a  bond  of  fellowship 
which  will  eternally  protect  the  poor,  and  guaranty  to  them 
the  respect  of  all  coming  time.  "  Whatever  you  shall  do  to 
the  most  dependent  among  these  my  brethren,  it  is  even  to  me 
that  you  do  it,"  were  his  gracious  words. 

Christ  conquered  the  world  by  experiencing  its  deprivations, 

its  oppressions,  and  all  its  woes.     He  started  from  the  base  of 

the  pyramid  of  human  society,  and  struggled  up,  by  incessant 

toil,  through  all  the  superincumbent  mass,  before  he  entered 

9* 


102 


REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 


upon  his  public  ministry  ;  and  then,  from  the  highest  point  of 
earthly  toil,  he  showed  how  we  are  to  accompany  him  through 
much  tribulation  to  the  fairest  heights  of  celestial  glory.  The 
Son  of  man  was  the  manliest  of  men  ;  the  most  humane,  and, 
at  the  same  time,  the  most  brave  ;  he  taught  as  never  man 
taught,  because  he  sought  usefulness  rather  than  honors,  and 
was  ready  to  enter  the  lists  against  the  most  numerous  and 
mighty  foes,  whenever  the  feeble  were  to  be  defended  or  the 
captive  set  free.  It  mattered  not  though  crowned  and  mitred 
tyranny  condemned  his  advocacy  of  mercy  and  truth.  It  was 
impossible  for  his  righteous  soul  to  be  otherwise  than  "  bold  in 
the  right,  and  too  bold  to  do  wrong."  Christ  was  never  afraid 
to  speak  out  and  tell  men  the  truth.  His  denunciation  of  the 
hypocritical  Scribes  and  Pharisees,  those  "  whited  sepulchres" 
of  the  nation  in  those  last  stages  of  degeneracy  and  moral 
putrescence  which  they  had  mainly  produced,  is  in  point  to 
show  that  he  was  above  the  influence  of  fear  or  favor  in  his 
teaching,  whatever  might  be  the  reputation  of  his  hearers  or 
the  rank  in  which  they  moved.  He  never  injured  the  wealthy 
and  powerful  by  refraining  from  dealing  out  to  them  wholesome 
counsel ;  but  his  especial  solicitude  was  for  the  welfare  of  the 
great  multitudes  who  did  not  scorn  his  lowliness,  but,  on  the 
contrary,  in  a  measure,  appreciated  the  constant  labors  he  per- 
formed for  their  sakes,  and  gladly  listened  to  his  discourse. 
They  recognized  in  him  a  sympathizing  friend,  an  untiring 
brother,  a  champion  divine. 

"  Patient  of  toil,  serene  amidst  alarms, 
Inflexible  in  faith,  invincible  in  arms." 

Finally,  the  love  of  Christ  for  the  common  people  was  not 
only  deep  beyond  all  precedent,  but  it  was  also  in  every  respect 
the  most  impartial ;  and,  if  any  thing  was  wanting  to  secure 
their  undivided  regard,  this  would  succeed  beyond  all  other 
means. 

Christianity  was  the  first  universal  educator.  Its  spirit  is  the 
patron  of  all  excellence,  the  enlightener  of  all  mind,  "  the  light 


CHRIST    AS    A    PKEACHER.  103 

that  lighteth  every  man  that  cometh  into  the  world."  When 
this  Liberator  of  universal  thought  appeared,  he  signified  the 
divine  purpose  of  his  mission  in  the  well-known  words,  "  The 
Lord  has  sent  me  to  evangelize  the  poor."  Why  the  poor? 
Doubtless  because  they  formed  the  greatest  number,  and  suf- 
fered the  greatest  wrongs  ;  and,  since  all  souls  are  of  equal 
value  before  God,  when  he  weighs  them  in  the  balance  of  eter- 
nal justice,  the  soul  of  the  great  masses  should  certainly  pre- 
ponderate. The  common  people  recognized  Christ,  and  adored, 
him  in  the  deepest  obscurity,  while,  as  he  rose  on  the  general 
view,  men  of  station  and  power  saw  in  him  nothing  to  admire, 
but  every  thing  to  persecute.  The  people  loved  him,  because 
they  saw  in  him  the  transparent  wisdom  and  impartial  love  they 
so  much  needed  ;  and  he  in  turn  loved  them  the  more,  because, 
in  their  destitution  and  despair,  they  were  willing  to  confide  in 
him  as  the  great  Master  who  had  come  to  teach  every  class  of 
mankind  without  money  and  without  price.  This  was  instruc- 
tion and  love  which  met  men's  entire  yearnings,  aspirings,  and 
powers,  and  was  employed  to  raise  human  nature,  by  enlarging 
and  cultivating  its  faculties,  but  not  to  fortify  tottering  thrones 
and  exclusive  sects.  As  Christ  himself  was  conscious  of  a 
perfect  union  with  God,  he  designed  to  produce,  upon  all  who 
were  susceptible  of  such  a  feeling,  a  corresponding  impression 
of  an  existence  pervaded  with  the  fulness  of  the  divine  spirit 
and  nature.  Devout  emotions,  tender,  fraternal  bonds,  and  the 
sublimest  aspirations,  are  inherent  in  the  nature  of  the  gospel, 
flowing  spontaneously  forth  from  the  word,  the  spirit,  and  the 
life  of  Christ,  and  were  most  strongly  confirmed  by  the  perfect 
harmony  between  his  manifestation  in  the  flesh  and  that  inward 
perception  of  the  godlike,  which,  through  it,  was  first  awakened 
to  full  consciousness  in  the  popular  heart.  Jesus  was  the 
Shekinah  to  the  world ;  a  palpable  imbodiment  of  Jehovah  to 
all  men,  in  a  far  wider  and  higher  sense  than  the  Shekinah  of 
old  ;  for  he  was  not  merely  a  symbol  of  the  divine  perfections 
gleaming  in  the  cloud,  and  circumscribed  by  a  narrow  sanctu- 
ary, but  infinite  wisdom  and  universal  love  realized  distinctly 


104  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

and  rapturously  to  the  common  intellect  and  affection  of 
mankind.  The  beloved  Son  was  the  bright  image  and  rep- 
resentative of  the  great  Father  of  us  all,  whose  advent  was 
designed  to  testify  the  worth  of  the  soul  in  the  sight  of  God, 
and  to  qualify  it  for  the  infinite  functions  for  which  it  was 
framed. 

In  order  best  to  accomplish  the  work  which  was  given  him 
to  do,  our  Savior  appeared  in  the  greatest  poverty,  and  lived 
upon  the  generosity  of  those  who  suffered  with  him  the  ills  of 
life.  With  the  noblest  zeal  he  attacked  the  strongest  party 
among  his  countrymen,  and  seemed  purposely  to  excite  the 
indignation  of  all  who  were  tyrants  and  bigots  at  heart.  To 
know  who  were  the  wretched  creatures  he  most  denounced,  we 
have  only  to  ascertain  who  had  already  inflicted  the  greatest 
wrongs  on  their  race.  The  Pharisees  had  transformed  mo- 
rality into  a  subtle  casuistry  about  ceremonials,  and  made  it  the 
patroness  of  most  pernicious  hypocrisy.  The  Sadducees  had 
reduced  it  to  a  system  of  arbitary  maxims  for  the  use  of  un- 
principled sensualists  ;  and  the  Essenes,  to  a  gloomy  asceti- 
cism, fit  only  for  fanatical  anchorites  and  morbid  enthusiasts. 
They  all  agreed,  however,  to  abandon  the  common  people  to 
uncultivated  desires,  and  were  satisfied  themselves,  selfishly,  to 
conform  to  their  own  frivolous  formulas,  and  treat  the  excluded 
multitudes  with  bitter  contempt.  To  rescue  morality  from 
such  degradation,  and  to  open  on  earth  the  fountains  of  free 
salvation,  instead  of  priestcraft  so  accursed,  was  the  design  of 
Christ  and  his  glorious  reward.  He  would  convert  men  to 
himself  by  making  them  like  himself,  and  thus  bind  them  to 
each  other  with  a  love  as  comprehensive  and  magnanimous  as 
his  own.  He  would  disabuse  them  of  all  prejudice,  destroy 
from  amongst  them  all  hinderances  to  mutual  improvement,  and 
invest  each  devotee,  at  the  shrine  of  impartial  justice,  with  the 
nobility  of  heaven.  He  drew  golden  truth  from  its  original 
sources,  and  scattered  it  as  widely  as  possible  among  the  mis- 
cellaneous crowds,  not  simply  to  meet  their  immediate  wants, 
but  to  stimulate  their  appetite,  and  to  remind  them  that  the 


CHRIST   AS   A   PREACHER.  105 

inexhaustible  mine  was  laid  open  to  be  explored  by  all.  He 
sowed  the  field  of  the  world  with  the  seeds  of  most  precious 
harvests  thickly  scattered,  and  invited  every  rank  and  con- 
dition to  gather  unlimited  stores  for  themselves.  He  addressed 
the  masses,  and  not  private  circles ;  went  to  the  reading-desk 
of  the  synagogue,  and  not  the  secret  alcoves  of  the  temple  ; 
and  made  every  spot  where  his  feet  stood  and  his  voice  re- 
sounded, a  perpetual  source  of  the  widest,  highest,  freest,  and 
most  powerful  instruction.  It  was  his  own  declaration,  "  And 
I,  if  I  be  lifted  up,  will  draw  all  men  unto  me."  That  is,  all 
men  are  made  susceptible  of  emotion,  as  well  as  capable  of 
believing ;  all  men  love  to  feel,  as  well  as  to  think ;  and  in  my 
gospel  is  an  exciting  and  exalting  power,  adapted  to  the  human 
mind,  and  to  which,  if  permitted  through  appropriate  instruc- 
tion, it  will  every  where  respond,  feeling  that  by  the  contact 
all  its  faculties  of  head  and  heart  are  refreshed. 

Can  we  wonder  that  the  eyes  of  the  Redeemer,  "  which 
seemed  to  love  whate'er  they  looked  upon,"  as  they  met  the 
popular  gaze,  held  all  spirits  spell-bound  ?  Is  it  strange  that 
those  tones  of  his  which  every  where  proclaimed  that  all 
rational  beings  have  an  equal  right  to  live  and  enjoy  elicited 
applause  from  the  throbbing  hearts  on  which  they  fell  ?  The 
common  people  must  have  been  something  less  or  more  than 
human  to  have  resisted  the  power  of  wisdom  so  exalted,  and 
love  so  impartial.  He  taught  them  to  look  into  the  everlast- 
ing mysteries  of  God's  might,  to  be  assimilated  to  infinite 
excellence,  and  thus  to  become  divine.  He  created  in  the 
common  people  faith,  that  living  power  which  grows  by  the 
struggles  it  encounters,  and  outruns  the  demands  made  upon  it 
by  the  trials  of  life.  As  Elijah,  who  wore  a  rough  garment, 
arose  to  heaven  with  chariot  and  horses  of  fire,  so  Christ  would 
encourage  the  humblest  of  earth's  children  to  aspire  after 
celestial  treasures  of  the  greatest  worth,  through  a  career  the 
most  resplendent  and  full  of  beneficence.  Standing  in  the 
presence  of  such  a  teacher  and  such  a  friend,  the  people  saw 
God  manifest  in  the  flesh,  who  addressed  a  common'  nature, 


106  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

aroused  common  emotions,  and  imparted  common  blessings, 
and  whose  life,  as  well  as  doctrines,  proclaimed  a  model 
worthy  of  being  not  only  admired  but  imitated  by  all. 


CHAPTER    V. 

THE    SACRIFICE    OF    CHRIST. 

IN  HIS   DEATH,  THE  DIVINE   ATONER  IN  WHOM  ALL  ARE  INVITED  TO  TRUST 
FOR   THE   HIGHEST   FREEDOM  AND    IMMORTAL   JOY. 


We  have  surveyed  the  infancy,  the  youth,  the  manhood, 
and  the  public  ministry  of  Christ.  It  remains  to  consider  the 
crowning  act  of  his  life  on  earth,  and  the  results  which  thence 
emanate  and  spread  through  time  and  eternity.  We  believe 
that  the  divine  Savior  died  for  the  wretched,  whose  sorrows  he 
felt ;  atoned  for  the  sinful,  whose  guilt  he  assumed  ;  and  tri- 
umphed alone  on  the  cross  in  gloom,  that  he  might  open  the 
gates  of  glory  to  all,  and  proffer  to  each  a  crown. 

In  the  first  place,  Christ  died  for  the  wretched,  whose  sor- 
rows he  felt.  The  progressive  character  of  his  career  was 
climacteric  in  the  most  interesting  and  sublime  degree.  The 
different  traits  of  his  life  grew  fairer  and  brighter  at  each 
successive  development,  until  his  person  was  invested  with 
multifarious  charms,  each  one  perfect  in  itself,  and  all  blended 
in  a  perfect  whole  ;  as  celestial  hues  appear  one  after  another 
only  to  consummate  their  beautiful  union  at  last  in  the  rainbow, 
spanning  earth  and  touching  heaven.  If  our  Lord  was  more 
than  human  in  his  human  growth,  and  infinitely  beneficent  in 
his  earthly  toils,  he  was  indeed  divine  in  the  merits  of  his 
death,  and  in  those  consequences  of  his  sacrifice  which  so  in- 
timately connect  the  destinies  of  our  race  with  the  councils  and 
career  of  the  Almighty. 


THE    SACRIFICE    OF    CHRIST.  107 

Consider  what  difficulties  the  Redeemer  had  to  encounter, 
and  what  a  victory  he  won.  Human  nature,  which  was  origin- 
ally adapted  to  a  union  with  the  divine,  had  incurred  a  fearful 
obstruction,  which  interposed  between  this  original  design  and 
its  accomplishment:  that  obstruction,  which  necessitated  the 
life  and  death  of  the  Son  of  God,  was  sin.  As  it  is  the  first 
truth  of  our  religion,  that  this  evil  influence  had  obtained  com- 
plete dominion  over  man,  thus  causing  his  immediate  union 
with  God  to  become  impossible,  it  follows  that  the  power  of 
sin  was  first  to  be  vanquished,  annihilated  within  him,  before 
reconciliation  could  result,  and  salvation  be  secured.  But  this, 
from  the  peculiar  state  of  subjection  in  which  man  was  held, 
could  not  be  effected  by  his  own  effort ;  it  must  be  the  work  of 
that  Being  alone,  whose  very  nature  renders  him  unassailable 
by  sin,  and  supreme  over  it.  He,  therefore,  through  whom 
the  Deity  opens,  as  it  were,  afresh  his  intercourse  with  human 
nature,  becomes  necessarily  the  Redeemer,  not  from  one  special 
spiritual  burden,  pressing  on  one  particular  period,  but  from 
the  burden  which  weighed  down  the  whole  human  race,  at  all 
times  and  every  where.  The  atonement  which  Christ  effects 
is  that  of  mankind  with  their  holy  Creator ;  and  it  is  in  this 
character  we  behold  him  invested  with  a  special  and  unrivalled 
importance,  a  dignity  the  most  attractive  and  divine. 

Undoubtedly  one  of  the  greatest  proofs  of  the  heavenly 
origin  of  the  gospel  consists  in  the  fact  that  it  is  prepared  for 
all  ages,  the  pioneer  of  all  progress,  and  adapted  to  every  con- 
dition of  mankind.  In  it  the  moral  law  is  every  where  laid 
down  —  great,  simple,  absolute,  and  positive.  "  For  this,  thou 
shalt  not  commit  adultery,  thou  shalt  not  kill,  thou  shalt  not 
steal,  thou  shalt  not  bear  false  witness,  and  if  there  be  any 
other  commandment,  it  is  briefly  comprehended  in  this  saying, 
namely,  Thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbor  as  thyself."  "  So  like- 
wise ye,  when  ye  have  done  all  those  things  which  are  com- 
manded you,  say,  We  are  unprofitable  servants :  we  have  done 
that  which  was  our  duty  to  do."  Then  came  Peter  to  him,  and 
said,  "  Lord,  how  oft  shall  my  brother  sin  against  me  and  I 


108  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

forgive  him  ?  till  seven  times  ?  "  Jesus  saith  unto  him,  "  I  say- 
not  unto  thee,  Until  seven  times  ;  but,  Until  seventy  times 
seven  ; "  that  is,  indefinitely,  without  reckoning  the  number  of 
pardons.  "  For  in  Jesus  Christ  neither  circumcision  availeth 
any  thing,  nor  uncircumcision  ;  but  faith,  which  worketh  by- 
love." 

By  the  death  of  Christ,  a  basis  has  been  laid  for  faith,  and 
freedom  won  for  its  exercise  ;  so  that  eveiy  where  the  applica- 
tion of  the  law  is  left  to  the  individual  conscience,  emancipated 
and  enlightened  by  the  Holy  Spirit  to  be  our  guide.  And 
when  we  remember  that  the  gospel  succeeded  the  Mosaic  dis- 
pensation, which  constitutes  an  immense  and  minute  system  of 
outward  ceremonies  and  cumbrous  discipline,  it  is  impossible 
not  to  see  the  merciful  hand  of  God  in  the  difference  —  a  dif- 
ference which  man,  in  his  imprudence  or  his  pride,  has  vainly 
attempted  to  efface.  It  is  the  aim  of  "  the  glorious  gospel  of 
the  blessed  God"  to  make  our  responsibility  complete  and 
entire  ;  and,  in  order  that  we  may  be  responsible,  we  must  be 
perfectly  free  —  a  condition  won  only  by  the  death  of  Christ. 
It  is  in  reference  to  the  oppressive  precepts  of  the  Mosaic  law, 
and  the  superior  privileges  of  the  gospel,  that  Paul  observes, 
"  Where  the  spirit  of  the  Lord  is,  there  is  liberty."  "  Stand 
fast,  therefore,  in  the  liberty  wherewith  Christ  has  made  us 
free."  James  tells  us  that  the  law  of  Christ  is  the  "  perfect 
law  of  [moral]  liberty,"  the  only  sense  which  the  context  of 
the  passage  in  which  it  occurs  permits  us  to  adopt ;  and  Paul 
has  laid  down  the  fundamental  principles  of  Christian  morality 
in  these  words :  "  Let  every  man  be  fully  persuaded  in  his 
own  mind  ....  for  whatsoever  is  not  of  faith,  is  sin." 

Christ  is  every  where  described,  in  the  sacred  record,  not 
so  much  a  teacher  as  a  doer.  If  he  taught  as  never  man 
taught,  he  did  what  only  God  could  do  ;  he  grappled  the  infinite 
evils  of  sin,  and  atoned  for  a  world,  that  all  men  might  be  both 
teachers  and  doers  of  eternal  truth.  He  was  a  light  indeed, 
broad-shining  and  effective,  which  lighteth  every  man  that 
cometh  into  the  world ;  the  luminary  supreme,  which  causes 


THE    SACRIFICE    OF    CHRIST.  109 

what  it  shows,  as  well  as  shows  what  its  genial  beams  have 
caused.  The  great  Redeemer  came  to  the  rescue  of  fallen 
and  oppressed  man  in  the  desperate  hour  of  his  need.  And 
what  treasures  did  he  bring  and  bestow  on  the  race  whose 
sorrows  he  pitied  most,  because  by  him  they  were  most  deeply 
felt  ?  He  elevated  the  obscure  and  protected  the  weak,  by 
teaching  the  common  origin  and  sacred  fraternity  of  mankind. 
He  gave  force  to  the  imbecile,  dignity  to  babes,  and  unwonted 
charms  to  woman,  by  unfolding  the  idea  of  a  new  and  more 
exalted  domestic  law,  and  threw  round  all  oppressed  persons 
the  highest  and  best  munitions  of  safety  and  affection,  by 
demonstrating,  in  life  and  death,  that  he  came  to  set  up  the 
universal  republic  on  earth,  founded  and  governed  by  God. 
What  could  be  more  magical  and  sure  in  its  effects  on  the  pop- 
ular heart?  When  Jesus  Christ  appeared,  and  from  the  deep- 
est obscurity  of  Judea  the  all-embracing  air  had  borne  to  the 
remotest  regions  his  liberating  influence,  with  what  sacred  hope 
did  the  human  race  tremble  as  it  rose  to  hail  his  progress,  gaze 
on  his  attractiveness,  and  listen  to  his  words !  Who  wonders 
that  the  impotent  strove  to  approach  him,  rose  and  walked  ? 
that  the  deaf  leaned  towards  his  lips,  till  his  miraculous  tones 
broke  rapturously  on  their  brain  ?  Who  wonders  that  children, 
females,  laborers,  slaves,  the  poor  and  despised  of  every  class, 
country,  and  condition,  gathered  along  the  dusty  highway 
which  he  covered  with  monuments  of  mercy,  spreading  their 
garments  under  his  feet,  waving  boughs  over  his  head,  just 
before  his  death,  and  crying,  "  Hosanna  to  the  Son  of  David  : 
Blessed  is  he  that  cometh  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  !  "  That 
hosanna  was  the  cry  of  deliverance,  the  response  of  abused 
humanity  to  Him  who  groaned  over  popular  wrongs,  sympa- 
thized with  the  better  desires  of  the  popular  heart,  lived  and 
died  in  the  defence  of  popular  rights.  That  cry  accorded 
well  with  the  master  purpose  of  the  great  Deliverer ;  in  part, 
perhaps,  fortified  and  rewarded  it.  There  is  a  picture  by 
Raphael  which  represents  our  Lord  bowed  down  to  the  earth 
by  the  weight  of  his  cross  and  his  sufferings;  but,  in  the 
10 


110  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

expression  of  the  countenance,  the  artist  has  made  visible  an 
inward  satisfaction,  struggling  over  pain,  that  he  is  yet  to  save 
the  world. 

We  have  said  that  Christ  died  for  the  wretched,  whose  sor- 
rows he  felt.     We  proceed  to  remark,  — 

Secondly,  he  atoned  for  the  sinful,  whose  guilt  he  assumed. 
We  are  to  remember  constantly  that  it  was  the  criminality  of 
man  which  occasioned  the  atonement  of  Christ ;  but  for  sin, 
the  light  and  warmth  of  Eden  would  never  have  been  changed 
into  flames  round  the  sword  of  the  guardian  angel,  nor  blazed 
in  the  terrors  of  expulsion  at  the  forbidden  threshold.  This 
is  the  abasing  truth  of  the  gospel,  which  teaches  us  to  rejoice 
in  Christ  chiefly  as  a  Savior.  By  the  same  record  in  which 
our  ruinous  fall  is  proclaimed,  the  exalting  process  of  complete 
redemption  is  also  displayed.  Said  the  Savior  himself,  at  the 
institution  of  the  commemorative  supper,  "  This  is  my  blood 
which  is  shed  for  you,  for  the  remission  of  sins."  "  The  Son 
of  man  came  to  give  his  life  a  ransom  for  many."  "  He  died 
to  redeem  us  from  the  curse  of  the  law,  being  made  a  curse 
for  us."  "  God  has  set  him  forth  as  a  propitiation  for  sin,  that 
he  might  be  just,  and  yet  justify  him  that  believeth  in  Jesus." 
"  He  made  reconciliation  for  the  sins  of  the  people."  Schleus- 
ner,  commenting  on  these  passages,  says,  "  Christ  came  an 
object  of  execration  in  our  stead.  He  was  made  an  expiatory 
offering,  in  the  place  of  sinners,  to  procure  their  deliverance 
from  the  curse.  Christ  was  sent  of  God,  for  the  express  pur- 
pose of  undergoing  death,  as  the  cause  of  human  salvation  ; 
and  God  has  proposed  Christ,  as  the  expiator,  or  expiatory 
victim,  expiating  the  sins  of  mankind,  by  a  sacrifice  offered." 

The  fact  of  our  utter  inability  to  atone  for  our  own  sins,  and 
the  fulness  of  redemption  secured  for  us  by  the  sacrifice  of 
Christ,  are  well  stated  by  Dr.  Edwards,  as  follows :  — 

"  The  very  idea  of  an  atonement  or  satisfaction  for  sin,  is 
something  which,  to  the  purposes  of  supporting  the  author- 
ity of  the  divine  law,  and  the  dignity  and  consistency  of  the 
divine   government,  is  equivalent  to  the  punishment  of  the 


THE    SACRIFICE    OF   CHRIST.  Ill 

sinner,  according  to  the  literal  threatening  of  the  law.  That 
which  answers  these  purposes  being  done,  whatever  it  be, 
atonement  is  made,  and  the  way  is  prepared  for  the  dispensa- 
tion of  pardon.  In  any  such  case,  God  can  be  just,  and  yet  the 
justifier  of  the  sinner.  And  that  that  which  is  sufficient  to 
answer  these  purposes,  has  been  done  for  us  according  to  the 
gospel  plan,  I  presume  none  can  deny  who  believe  that  the 
eternal  '  Word  was  made  flesh,  and  dwelt  among  us,'  and  that 
he,  the  only-begotten  and  well-beloved  Son  of  God,  '  bare  our 
sins  in  his  own  body  on  the  tree,'  and  '  gave  himself  a  sacrifice 
to  God  for  us.' 

"  But  perhaps  some,  who  may  readily  grant  that  what  Christ 
hath  done  and  suffered  is  undoubtedly  sufficient  to  atone  for 
the  sins  of  his  people,  may  also  suppose  that,  if  God  had  seen 
fit  so  to  order  it,  we  might  have  made  a  sufficient  atonement 
for  our  own  sins.  Or,  whether  they  believe  in  the  reality  and 
sufficiency  of  the  atonement  of  Christ  or  not,  they  may  sup- 
pose that  we  might  have  atoned,  or  even  now  may  atone,  for 
our  own  sins.  This  hypothesis,  therefore,  demands  our  at- 
tention. 

"  If  we  could  have  atoned,  by  any  means,  for  our  own  sins, 
it  must  have  been  either  by  our  repentance  and  reformation,  or 
by  enduring  a  punishment,  less  in  degree  or  duration  than  that 
which  is  threatened  in  the  law  as  the  wages  of  sin.  No  other 
way  for  us  to  atone  for  our  own  sins  appears  to  be  conceivable. 
But,  if  we  attend  to  the  subject,  we  shall  find  that  we  can  make 
no  proper  atonement  in  either  of  these  ways.1' 

Thus  conditioned,  where  is  our  hope  ?  It  is  in  God,  whose 
Son  descends  from  heaven,  takes  upon  him  the  nature  of  man, 
sufFers  in  his  stead,  and,  having  consented  that  the  whole  bur- 
den of  offended  justice  should  be  laid  upon  him,  bears  it  in  his 
own  body  on  the  tree,  that  the  Father  may  be  glorified,  the  law 
magnified  and  made  honorable,  by  pouring  out  his  soul  unto 
death  for  all  who  trust  in  his  blood.  He  ascended  on  high, 
and,  by  the  arm  that  was  lacerated  on  the  cross,  now  energized 
with  everlasting  strength,  he  has  levelled  the  wall  of  partition 


112  REPUBLICAN   CHRISTIANITY. 

which  traversed  and  darkened  the  path  of  redemption,  so  that 
now  every  barrier  on  the  part  of  God  is  done  away,  and  he, 
with  untarnished  glory,  can  dispense  forgiveness  over  the  whole 
extent  of  a  guilty  creation,  and  pour  balm  upon  every  penitent 
heart.  On  this  theme  Robert  Hall  has  spoken  with  his  wonted 
piety  and  eloquence.     Said  he, — 

"  The  conclusion  to  which  we  are  conducted  is  confirmed  by 
inspiration,  which  assures  us  that  a  great  revolution  has  actually 
befallen  the  species ;  and  that,  in  consequence  of  the  entrance 
of  sin  into  the  world,  we  have  incurred  the  forfeiture  of  the 
divine  favor  and  the  loss  of  the  divine  image.  In  this  situation, 
it  is  not  difficult  to  perceive  that  the  economy  adapted  to  our 
relief  must  include  two  things  —  the  means  of  expiating  guilt, 
and  the  means  of  moral  renovation  ;  in  other  words,  an  atoning 
sacrifice  and  a  sanctifying  spirit.  Both  these  objects  are  ac- 
complished in  the  advent  of  the  Savior,  who,  by  presenting 
himself  as  a  sin-offering,  has  made  ample  satisfaction  to 
offended  justice,  and  purchased,  by  his  merits,  the  renovating 
spirit  which  is  freely  offered  to  as  many  as  sincerely  seek  it. 
By  the  former,  the  obstructions  to  our  happiness  arising  from 
the  divine  nature  are  removed  ;  by  the  latter,  the  disqualifica- 
tion springing  from  our  own.  By  providing  a  sacrifice  of 
infinite  value  in  the  person  of  the  only-begotten,  he  has  con- 
sulted his  majesty  as  the  righteous  governor  of  the  world,  and 
has  reconciled  the  seemingly  incompatible  claims  of  justice  and 
of  mercy.  By  bestowing  the  Spirit  as  the  fruit  of  his  media- 
tion and  intercession  whose  soul  loas  made  an  offering  for  sin, 
pollution  is  purged,  and  that  image,  of  God  restored  to  sinful 
creatures,  which  capac'tates  them  for  the  enjoyment  of  pure 
and  perfect  felicity.  Thus  every  requisite  which  we  can  con- 
ceive necessary  in  a  restorative  dispensation  is  found  in  the 
gospel,  exhibited  with  a  perspicuity  level  to  the  meanest  capa- 
city, combined  with  such  a  depth  in  the  contrivance,  and  such 
an  exquisite  adaptation  to  our  state  and  condition,  as  surpasses 
finite  comprehension.  This  is  the  substance  of  those  glad 
tidings  which  constitute  the  gospel,  to  the  cordial  reception  of 


THE    SACRIFICE    OF    CHRIST.  113 

which  must  all  the  difference  he  ascribed  which  will  shortly  be 
found  between  the  condition  of  the  saved  and  the  lost. 

"Be  assured,  my  Christian  brethren,  it  is  by  a  profound 
submission  of  the  soul  to  this  doctrine,  offensive  as  it  may  be 
to  the  pride  of  human  virtue,  repugnant  as  it  undoubtedly  is  to 
the  dictates  of  philosophy,  falsely  so  called,  that  we  must 
acquaint  ourselves  with  God,  and  be  at  peace.  When  we 
mention  peace,  however,  we  mean  not  the  stupid  security  of  a 
mind  that  refuses  to  reflect ;  we  mean  a  tranquillity  which 
rests  upon  an  unshaken  basis  ;  which  no  anticipations,  however 
remote,  no  power  of  reflection,  however  piercing  or  profound, 
no  evolutions  which  time  may  disclose  or  eternity  conceal,  are 
capable  of  impairing;  a  peace  which  is  founded  on  the  oath 
and  promise  of  Him  who  cannot  lie ;  which,  springing  from 
the  consciousness  of  an  ineffable  alliance  with  the  Father  of 
spirits,  makes  us  to  share  in  his  fulness,  to  become  a  partner 
with  him  in  his  eternity ;  a  repose,  pure  and  serene  as  the 
unruffled  wave,  which  reflects  the  heavens  from  its  bosom, 
while  it  is  accompanied  with  a  feeling  of  exultation  and  tri- 
umph natural  to  such  as  are  conscious  that,  ere  long,  having 
overcome,  they  shall  possess  all  things. 

"  While  the  prize  is  so  transcendently  great,  no  unparalleled 
efforts,  no  incredible  exertions,  are  requisite  to  obtain  it ;  it  is 
placed  within  the  grasp  of  every  hand.  If  the  great  sacrifice 
had  not  been  presented,  if  the  succors  of  Heaven  had  not  been 
offered,  if  the  glad  tidings  had  not  been  proclaimed,  nor  life 
and  immortality  brought  to  light,  our  condition  would  indeed 
have  been  deplorable ;  and  little  encouragement  should  we 
have  had  to  engage  in  the  great  work  of  seeking  salvation. 
But  now  all  things  are  ready,  and  the  chief,  or  rather  the  only 
prerequisite  is  a  childlike  docility,  a  disposition  to  derive  wis- 
dom from  the  fountain  of  light,  strength  from  the  strong,  to- 
gether with  a  fixed  and  immovable  conviction  that  the  care  of 
our  eternal  interests  is  the  grand  concern.'" 

Hall,  like  the  great  apostle,  spoke  with  the  greatest  con- 
fidence, in  contrasting  the  vain  sacrifices  of  the  law  with  the 
10* 


114  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

inherent  sufficiency  of  the  sacrifice  of  Christ.  "  If  the  blood 
of  bulls  and  of  goats,  and  the  ashes  of  a  heifer,  sprinkling 
the  unclean,  sanctifieth  to  the  purifying  of  the  flesh,  how  much 
more  shall  the  blood  of  Christ,  who,  through  the  eternal  Spirit, 
offered  himself  without  spot  to  God,  purge  your  conscience 
from  dead  works  to  serve  the  living  God  !  "  "  The  blood  of 
Jesus  Christ,  his  Son,  cleanseth  us  from  all  sin."  He  has 
effected  for  believers  an  entire  exemption  from  all  liability  to 
punishment,  and  procured  for  them  a  title  to  the  blessedness 
of  heaven,  because  he  was  the  Son  of  God  ;  and  the  heirs  of 
grace  are  one  with  him,  the  sufferings  of  the  Redeemer  are  to 
be  regarded  as  vicarious,  that  he  appeared  in  the  character  of 
a  substitute  for  sinners,  in  distinction  from  a  mere  example, 
teacher,  or  martyr.  Only  as  we  thus  embrace  the  atonement, 
both  penitently  and  actively  trusting  in  its  merits,  can  we  believe 
to  the  saving  of  the  soul. 

Such  views  are  the  life  and  power  of  the  gospel.  They 
constitute  the  chief  efficiency  of  the  pulpit  every  where, 
and  were  well  exemplified  in  the  preaching  of  the  great  man 
to  whom  we  have  just  referred.  Dr.  Gregory,  in  describing 
Hall's  removal  to  Cambridge,  where  he  had  to  encounter  the 
pernicious  antinomianism  of  his  predecessor,  remarks, — 

"  Attentive  to  the  voice  of  heavenly  admonition,  thus  ad- 
dressing him  from  various  quarters,  he  entered  upon  his  new 
duties  with  earnest  desires  that  he  might  be  able  '  to  commend 
himself  to  every  man's  conscience  in  the  sight  of  God.' 
Feeling  that  to  him  was  consigned  the  charge  of  transforming, 
with  God's  assistance,  a  cold  and  sterile  soil  into  a  fruitful  field, 
he  determined  not  to  satisfy  himself  with  half  measures,  but 
proceeded  to  expose  error,  and  defend  what  he  regarded  as 
essential  truth.  The  first  sermon,  therefore,  which  he  deliv- 
ered at  Cambridge,  after  he  had  assumed  the  office  of  pastor, 
was  on  the  doctrine  of  the  atonement  and  its  practical  tenden- 
cies. Immediately  after  the  conclusion  of  the  service,  one  of 
the  congregation,  who  had  followed  poor  Mr.  Robinson  through 
all  his  changes  of  sentiment,  went  into  the  vestry,  and  said, 


THE    SACRIFICE    OF    CHRIST.  115 

'  Mr.  Hall,  this  preaching  won't  do  for  us ;  it  will  only  suit  a 
congregation  of  old  women.'  l  Do  you  mean  my  sermon, 
sir,  or  the  doctrine  ? '  '  Your  doctrine.'  '  Why  is  it  that  the 
doctrine  is  fit  only  for  old  women  ?  '  '  Because  it  may  suit 
the  musings  of  people  tottering  upon  the  brink  of  the  grave, 
and  who  are  eagerly  seeking  comfort.'  l  Thank  you,  sir,  for 
your  concession.  The  doctrine  will  not  suit  people  of  any 
age,  unless  it  be  true ;  and,  if  it  be  true,  it  is  not  fitted  for  old 
women  alone,  but  is  equally  important  at  every  age.'  " 

A  negro  boy,  when  informed  by  his  teacher  that  God  had 
sent  his  Son  to  die  for  the  world,  replied,  "  O  massa,  me  no 
wonder  at  that ;  it  be  just  like  him."  Yes,  the  untutored  child 
of  nature  feels  that  "  God  is  love  ; "  the  pupil  of  Providence 
learns  the  same  great  truth  at  every  step  ;  but  it  is  for  the 
happy  subject  of  redemption -to  repeat  with  unutterable  delight, 
"  God  so  loved  the  world,  that  he  gave  his  only-begotten  Son, 
that  whosoever  believeth  in  him  should  not  perish,  but  have 
everlasting  life."  "  Herein  is  love,  not  that  we  loved  God, 
but  that  he  loved  us,  and  sent  his  Son  to  be  a  propitiation  for 
our  sins."  Love  is  the  mightiest  inspiration  in  the  weakest  of 
mortals.  What,  then,  shall  be  its  power  and  products,  when,  in 
behalf  of  a  lost  race,  it  is  exercised  by  the  Almighty  himself! 
Herein  is  love,  that  "  God  sent  not  his  Son  into  the  world  to 
condemn  the  world,  but  that  the  world  through  him  might  be 
saved."  In  a  late  disaster  on  the  lake,  a  benevolent  individual 
was  swimming  with  a  mother  and  child.  Becoming  exhausted, 
he  inquired  which  he  should  drop,  and  the  mother  replied, 
"  Drop  me."  In  a  more  fearful  emergency,  He  who  is  mighty 
to  save  exclaimed,  "  Spare  the  rebel  from  going  down  to  the 
pit.     Lo,  I  have  found  a  ransom !  " 

"  He  had  joined  the  offending  nature  to  his  own,  for  the  dis- 
tinct and  deliberate  object  of  pouring  out  the  blood  which 
flowed  through  its  veins,  and  of  making  its  soul  an  offering  for 
sin.  His  whole  life  was  only  a  preface  to  his  death.  Having 
taken  a  survey  of  all  that  would  be  required  from  the  Surety 
of  sinners ;  having  cast  up  and  pondered  the  mighty  sum  of 


116  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

guilt  to  be  cancelled,  and  measured  with  his  eye  the  thunder- 
stores  of  wrath  which  must  be  exhausted,  and  fathomed  the  pit 
which  to  them  was  bottomless,  —  he  pressed  the  entire  respon- 
sibility to  his  heart,  and  addressed  himself  to  the  task.  Our 
nature,  to  him,  was  a  robe  of  suffering,  assumed  expressly 
that,  when  the  crisis  of  our  redemption  came,  Justice  might 
find  him  sacrificially  attired  and  prepared  for  the  altar,  a  sub- 
stance which  her  sword  could  smite,  a  victim  which  could  ago- 
nize and  die.  And,  if  the  human  soul  admits  of  an  indefinite 
enlargement  in  its  capacity  of  pleasure  and  pain  ;  if  the  admis- 
sion of  the  purified  spirit  to  the  uncreated  splendor  above  aug- 
ments that  capacity  to  such  a  degree  that  almost  an  infinitude 
of  emotion  can  be  compressed  into  the  space  of  a  moment, — 
what  must  have  been  the  measureless  capability  of  the  human 
soul  which  he  took  into  so  perfect  a  union  with  his  divinity,  that 
the  two  natures  composed  only  one  person  ?  What  must  have 
been  the  acquired  intensity  of  its  antipathy  to  sin,  and  what 
the  consequent  intensity  of  his  exceeding  sorrow,  when,  being 
in  an  agony,  he  had,  in  a  sense,  to  absorb  the  infinite  mass  of 
human  guilt,  and  to  exhaust,  in  one  short  moment,  the  mighty 
cup  of  omnipotent  wrath  !  " 

Christ  came  to  make  a  new  world  by  changing  the  moral 
character  of  its  inhabitants.  His  cross  was  the  throne  of  love 
inexhaustible  and  unconfined.  He  loved,  toiled,  died  for  the 
whole  world.  He  loved  man  for  his  own  sake,  all  men  with- 
out exception  or  exclusion.  His  ministry  was  elevated,  like 
the  mount  from  which  he  taught ;  unlimited,  like  the  heavens 
above  which  he  would  raise  the  hearts  of  all  our  race.  His 
temple  was  universal  nature,  his  congregation  the  promiscuous 
representatives  of  every  class  of  mankind  ;  and  the  truths  he 
imparted,  like  the  blessed  influences  of  sunshine  and  rain,  fell 
on  each  and  all  alike.  "  This  is  life  eternal,  to  know  thee,  the 
only  true  God,  and  Jesus  Christ,  whom  thou  hast  sent."  This 
alone  can  cure  the  conscience,  cleanse  the  heart,  wipe  away 
the  tear  of  sorrow,  sanctify  the  soul,  and  fill  it  with  the  joys 
of  heaven.     And   this   the   gospel   can    do,   since   it  is   the 


THE    SACRIFICE    OF    CHRIST.  117 

revelation  of  one  whose  arm  is  almighty -to  save,  and  whose 
heart  embraces  every  child  of  fallen  Adam.  As  the  repre- 
sentative of  the  Father,  our  blessed  Lord  offers  this  gift  to  all. 
"  Human  reason,  arguing  from  the  limited  appropriation  of  the 
priceless  benefit,  would  infer  that  the  extent  of  the  love  which 
provided,  and  the  value  of  the  means  which  procured  it,  are 
limited  also ;  would  examine  them  by  the  torture  of  its  logic, 
and  bring  its  insignificant  line  to  the  measurement  of  boundless 
grace.  Human  selfishness  would  make  a  monopoly  of  eternal 
life.  The  Jewish  Christians  would  fain  have  made  it  a  local 
and  national  benefit ;  till  the  unconfinable  spirit  came  and 
showed  them  that,  like  the  air,  it  belonged  to  the  world.  And 
the  inheritors  of  their  selfishness,  in  every  succeeding  age, 
have  attempted  to  number  Israel,  to  count  the  people  ;  have 
adhered  to  the  persuasion  that  the  great  gift  of  eternal  life  is 
only  to  be  offered  to  a  party.  But  an  attempt  to  imprison  the 
air,  and  to  enchain  the  light,  would  be  wise  and  salutary  com- 
pared with  this." 

Christ  died  for  the  wretched,  whose  sorrows  he  felt ;  he  thus 
atoned  for  the  sinful,  whose  guilt  he  assumed.  Having  con- 
sidered these  points,  let  us  proceed  to  remark, — 

Thirdly,  that  he  triumphed  alone  on  the  cross  in  gloom,  in 
order  to  throw  wide  open  the  gates  of  glory  to  all,  and  proffer 
to  each  a  crown. 

Jesus  Christ  was  the  representative  of  the  Deity  in  this  lower 
world,  the  Savior  by  his  incarnation,  divine  spirituality  im- 
bodied  and  made  palpable  to  all  the  spiritual  faculties  of  man. 
"  Ye  have  neither  heard  his  voice  at  any  time,1'  said  Christ, 
"  nor  seen  his  shape  :  "  that  is,  as  an  infinite  spirit  he  can  have 
neither  outline  nor  dimensions,  and  yet  he  who  thus  spake  was 
so  literally  the  manifestation  of  Jehovah,  that  Paul  character- 
ized him  as  "  the  image  of  the  invisible  God."  He  was  the 
image,  in  the  same  sense  as  he  was  the  word,  of  the  Almighty. 
What  speech  is  to  thought,  that  is  the  incarnate  Son  to  the 
invisible  Father.  Thought,  with  unseen  wing,  can  traverse 
space,  fly  to  and  fro  through  the  universe,  and  pass  instantane- 


118  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

ously  from  one  outer  bound  to  another,  without  being  discerned 
in  its  mighty  careerings  by  the  eye  of  man.  But  speech  is 
thought  manifested,  imbodied  in  palpable  shape,  and  rendered 
sensible  to  the  multitudes  who  could  not  apprehend  it  in  its 
secret  workings  and  silent  flight.  Thus  the  Son  is  the  man- 
ifested Father,  and  fitly  termed  "  the  Word  ; "  since  the  rela- 
tion between  the  incarnate  Son  and  the  Father  is  the  same  as 
that  between  speech  and  thought ;  the  one  imbodying  and 
making  intelligible  the  other  to  the  simplest  mind.  It  was  this 
that  the  world  most  needed,  because  without  some  sensible 
representation  of  the  divine  Being,  the  understanding  can  make 
no  approach  to  him,  and  the  affections  have  nothing  to  em- 
brace. "  Faith  itself,  like  the  dove  of  the  deluge,  has  nothing 
on  which  it  can  alight ;  it  finds  itself  voyaging  in  an  objectless 
universe,  an  infinite  vacuity  ;  and  piety  must  suffer  and  pine 
as  in  an  atmosphere  too  subtile  and  unsubstantial  for  its  present 
earthly  constitution." 

But  He  who  had  been  from  eternity  in  the  bosom  of  the 
Father,  the  Lamb  of  God,  who  taketh  away  the  sins  of  the 
world,  appears  the  representative,  and  the  only  adequate  rep- 
resentative, of  the  divine  character.  Invested  with  a  body 
which  God  had  prepared,  and  not  man,  he  claimed  to  himself 
the  exclusive  power  of  unveiling  those  perfections  which  are 
the  groundwork  and  pledge  of  eternal  life.  "  No  man,"  said 
he,  "  knoweth  the  Father  except  the  Son,  and  he  to  whomso- 
ever the  Son  shall  reveal  him."  He  who  alone  blended  hu- 
manity immaculate  and  the  fulness  of  the  Godhead  in  himself, 
felt  that  he  could  control  the  salvation  of  the  world,  and  that 
the  illumination  of  mankind  was  within  his  power,  by  virtue 
of  the  attributes  placed  entirely  at  his  discretion.  And  what 
did  he  do? — that  wonderful  Being  whom  ';  they  shall  call 
Emanuel,  which,  being  interpreted,  is,  God  with  us."  "  With- 
out controversy,  great  is  the  mystery  of  godliness :  God  was 
manifest  in  the  flesh,  justified  in  the  spirit,  seen  of  angels, 
preached  unto  the  Gentiles,  believed  on  in  the  world,  received 
up  into  glory."     "  We  are  in  him  that  is  true,  even  in  his  Son 


THE    SACRIFICE    OF    CHRIST.  119 

Jesus  Christ.  This  is  the  true  God  and  eternal  life."  It  was 
indeed  for  no  work  of  slight  importance  that  Christ  was  man- 
ifested in  the  flesh.  It  was  not  to  found  exclusive  schools  of 
recondite  wisdom,  or  bless  favorite  sections  of  the  world,  that 
he  came.  He  was  with  us,  partaking  of  the  divine  nature  and 
our  own,  that  he  might  save  our  common  race  from  its  lost 
condition,  restore  to  life  the  dead,  and  transport  to  heaven 
those  who  had  become  the  prey  of  hell.  "  Jesus  answered 
them,  My  Father  worketh  hitherto,  and  I  work."  If  to  create 
a  race  like  ourselves  was  a  wonderful  work,  to  save  us  from 
the  guilt  we  had  incurred,  and  the  eternal  misery  we  deserved, 
was  a  divine  task  wonderful  indeed.  The  Father  created 
every  thing  that  is  by  his  word  ;  the  Son  redeemed,  by  an  inef- 
fable sacrifice,  the  human  race  condemned  ;  and  the  Holy 
Spirit  concurred,  by  the  infusion  of  his  grace,  to  the  sanctifl- 
cation  of  man  purchased  with  blood  divine.  Briefly  stated,  this 
is  the  summary  of  all  religion,  the  substance  of  ancient  faith, 
the  accomplishment  of  the  hopes  of  the  world,  which  Jesus 
Christ  came  to  save.  "  Whosoever  believes  in  him,  is  not  con- 
demned ;  but  whosoever  believeth  not  on  him,  is  already  con- 
demned ;  because  he  believes  not  in  the  name  of  the  only  Son 
of  God." 

Circumstances  of  hereditary  prejudice,  local  laws,  and  par- 
tisan education,  may  modify  the  legitimate  influence  of  Chris- 
tianity on  the  souls  of  men,  but  they  cannot  narrow  the  infinite 
amplitude  of  its  source,  nor  long  degrade  the  ultimate  dignity 
of  its  power.  The  sunlight,  indeed,  produces  a  different  effect 
upon  the  eye,  as  it  passes  through  the  painted  glass  of  palatial 
halls  and  cathedral  altars,  from  that  which  it  bears  when  it  flies 
unimpeded  and  untinged  through  the  transparent  air.  The 
flowing  stream  may  have  different  hues  upon  its  surface, 
reflected  from  the  blue  canopy  of  heaven  or  the  clouds  which 
float  beneath ;  but  sky,  stream,  and  sunlight  are  in  themselves 
the  same,  perpetual,  boundless,  and  free,  bestowed,  like  God's 
highest  gift  to  humanity,  without  respect  to  station  or  class. 
The  offers,  gifts,  and  graces  of  Christianity  are  not  for  one,  or 


120  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

for  a  few.  They  are  proffered  to  all.  Even  when  the  gospel 
is  preached  to  a  single  individual,  it  is  offered  to  him  as  to  one 
of  a  great  household.  Not  only  man,  but,  says  Paul,  the  whole 
creation,  is  included  in  the  consequences  of  the  fall :  so  also 
are  all  included  in  the  change  wrought  by  redemption.  "  God 
was  in  Christ,  reconciling  the  world  to  himself."  Christianity 
is  redemption  and  reconciliation,  by  virtue  of  the  union  of 
Christ  with  God ;  it  becomes  salvation  to  the  believer,  by  the 
union  of  his  penitent  and  faith-inspired  soul  with  Christ.  The 
condemnation  of  the  law  is  averted,  since  the  great  Atoner 
died  in  the  sinner's  stead.  It  is  this  grand  truth  which  consti- 
tutes the  deepest  significance  of  Christianity,  which  makes  it  a 
gospel  to  those  that  believe  therein,  love  which  alone  can  give 
life  to  something  superior  to  the  dead  forms  of  Judaism ;  ana 
when  this  is  done,  as  in  the  life  of  Christ,  the  law  becomes 
written  in  the  heart,  a  vital  principle  thenceforth  destined  nei 
ther  to  condemn  nor  destroy.  "  For  what  the  law  could  not 
do,  in  that  it  was  weak  through  the  flesh,  God  sending  his 
own  Son  in  the  likeness  of  sinful  flesh,  and  for  sin  condemned 
sin  in  the  flesh ;  that  the  righteousness  of  the  law  might  be 
fulfilled  in  us,  who  walk  not  after  the  flesh,  but  after  the  Spirit." 
"  For  it  pleased  the  Father,  that  in  him  should  all  fulness 
dwell ;  and,  having  made  peace  by  the  blood  of  his  cross,  by 
him  to  reconcile  all  things  unto  himself;  by  him,  I  say,  whether 
they  be  things  in  earth  or  things  in  heaven."  The  utmost 
effort  of  the  dispensation  of  types  and  shadows  was  only  a 
preluding  overture,  till  he  should  come  to  lead  a  loftier  song, 
who  had  said,  "  In  the  midst  of  the  church  will  I  sing  praise 
unto  thee." 

"  He  took  up  the  strain  at  a  point  beyond  which  creation 
would  have  carried  it.  His  voice  gave  the  key-note  to  the 
universe.  His  description  of  the  divine  character  furnished 
words  for  the  new,  everlasting,  universal  song.  His  uncon- 
fined  power  ;  his  unsearchable  understanding  ;  his  holiness,  on 
which  no  spot,  no  shadow  could  settle,  and  which  the  eyes  of 
wickedness  could  not  gaze  on  for  its  brightness ;  his  untiring 


THE    SACRIFICE    OF    CHRIST.  121 

patience  ;  his  constant  community  with  the  general  heart  of 
man,  which  he  wept  over  and  bathed  in  tears  ;  his  meekness 
clothed  with  majesty  ;  his  personification  of  infinite  love,  —  these 
were  the  several  parts  of  the  harmonious  song.  All  the  attri- 
butes in  him  became  vocal,  and  made  infinite  music  in  the  ear 
of  that  glorious  Being  in  whom  they  eternally  reside.  Each 
myriad-voiced  rank  of  the  church  above,  overflowing  with  joy, 
took  up  the  mighty,  whelming,  ocean  strain  ;  the  church  below 
redoubled,  and  returned  it  back  again  in  alleluias  to  the  throne 
of  God  ;  age  after  age  has  heard  it  swelling  on,  as  lisping 
infancy,  and  newly-pardoned  penitence,  and  misery  beguiled  of 
its  woes,  and  ingratitude  charmed  into  thankfulness,  and  hope 
spreading  her  pinions  for  heaven,  and  all  the  new-born  heirs 
of  grace,  have  awoke  up  their  glory,  and  joined  the  general 
choir ;  and  on  it  shall  continue  to  roll  and  swell,  attuning  and 
gathering  to  itself  all  the  harmonies  of  nature ;  till  all  space 
shall  become  a  temple  ;  and  all  holy  beings,  actuated  by  one 
spirit,  and  swayed  in  perfect  diapason,  shall  become  one  great 
instrument,  sounding  forth  praise  to  God  in  the  church,  by 
Christ  Jesus,  throughout  all  ages,  world  without  end.  Amen.'" 
A  redemption  is  the  correction  or  renewal  of  a  creation, 
and  consequently  must  be  what  the  nature  of  the  creation 
requires.  It  is  a  remedy  whose  speciality  depends  on  that  of 
the  evil  which  it  proposes  to  cure.  The  terms  which  express 
this  idea,  are  those  which  in  particular  characterize  the  lan- 
guage of  the  gospel.  "  For  we  [Christians]  are  his  workman- 
ship, created  in  Christ  Jesus  unto  good  works."  "  If  any  man 
be  in  Christ,  he  is  a  new  creature."  "  And  be  renewed  [as 
Christ  taught  you]  in  the  spirit  of  your  mind  ;  and  that  ye  put 
on  the  new  man,  which,  after  God,  is  created  in  righteousness 
and  true  holiness."  And  Jesus  said,  "  Except  a  man  be  born 
again,  he  cannot  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  God."  The  idea 
of  a  redeemer  is  intimately  associated  with  that  of  a  creator ; 
the  one  depends  upon  the  other ;  two  terms  necessarily  united 
and  correlative  forever.  This  great  principle  is  as  significant 
as  it  is  simple,  and  may  be  expressed  in  the  infinite  formula  : 
11 


122  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

As  God,  so  Christ.  "  The  only-begotten  Son,  which  is  in  the 
bosom  of  the  Father."  "  Who,  [the  Son,]  being  the  brightness 
of  his  glory  and  the  express  image  of  his  person,"  was  "  the 
exact  image  of  the  invisible  God."  Consequently,  "  whoso- 
ever denieth  the  Son,  the  same  hath  not  the  Father ; "  that  is, 
knoweth  not  the  Father  so  as  to  be  united  to  him  ;  "  but  he 
that  acknowledged  the  Son,  hath  the  Father  also."  It  follows 
that  Jesus  was  entitled  to  make  the  requisition  of  all  in  abso- 
lute terms:  "Ye  believe  in  God,  believe  also  in  me." 

The  first  announcement  of  redemption  was  general ;  it  was 
a  promise  which  belonged  to  the  whole  family  of  man,  and 
had  nothing  in  its  origin  either  peculiar  or  special.  God  said 
to  the  serpent,  the  type  of  evil,  "  I  will  put  enmity  between 
thee  and  the  woman,  and  between  thy  seed  and  her  seed  ;  it 
shall  bruise  thy  head,  and  thou  shalt  bruise  his  heel."  In  this 
passage,  universal  redemption  is  foretokened  in  the  most 
appropriate  manner.  "  The  seed  of  the  serpent "  we  may 
consider  as  representing  evil  of  all  kinds,  perpetrated  from 
generation  to  generation ;  "  the  seed  of  the  woman  "  signifies 
mankind ;  the  enmity  spoken  of  is  the  universal  struggle 
which  mortals  have  to  maintain  against  evil ;  the  inevitable 
bruise  is  an  image  of  the  sufferings  which  must  always  be 
experienced  in  this  struggle  ;  the  complete  victory,  the  crush- 
ing of  the  serpent's  head  and  venomed  fangs,  is  an  image  of 
the  triumph  over  evil,  achieved  by  our  Lord,  and  of  which  all 
mankind  enjoy  the  fruits ;  all  is  universal  —  the  conflict,  the 
wound,  and  the  triumph.  What  was  true  of  the  first  promul- 
gation, is  also  true  of  the  actual  accomplishment  of  redemp- 
tion in  its  perfect,  Christian  form ;  it  has  nothing  exclusive  or 
particular,  and  is  in  no  respect  national,  but,  by  its  own  in- 
trinsic nature,  is  nationalized  every  where.  "  For  there  is  no 
difference  between  the  Jew  and  the  Greek  ;  for  the  same  Lord 
over  all  is  rich  unto  all  that  call  upon  him."  "  Where  there 
is  neither  Greek  nor  Jew,  barbarian,  Scythian,  bond  nor  free ; 
but  Christ  is  all  and  in  all." 

Providence   prepared  afar  off  the  way  for  free  and  full 


THE    SACRIFICE    OF    CHRIST.  123 

salvation.  We  see  its  light  faintly  dawning,  even  in  the  age 
when  Solomon  erected  the  temple  of  a  local  and  national 
religion.  In  the  prayer  of  dedication,  the  king,  acting  as  priest, 
says,  "  Moreover,  concerning  the  stranger  that  is  not  of  thy 
people  Israel,  but  cometh  out  of  a  far  country  for  thy  name's 
sake ;  .  .  .  when  he  shall  come  and  pray  toward  this  house : 
Hear  thou  in  heaven  thy  dwelling-place,  and  do  according  to 
all  that  the  stranger  calleth  to  thee  for ;  that  all  the  people  of 
the  earth  may  know  thy  name,  to  fear  thee."  Isaiah  proclaims 
the  rights  of  even  eunuchs,  (who,  in  whatever  manner  they 
had  become  so,  were  not  considered  as  Jewish  citizens.) 
"  Neither  let  the  son  of  the  stranger  that  hath  joined  himself 
to  the  Lord,  speak,  saying,  The  Lord  hath  utterly  separated 
me  from  his  people  :  neither  let  the  eunuch  say,  Behold,  I  am 
a  dry  tree.  For  thus  saith  the  Lord,  .  .  .  Those  that  choose 
the  things  that  please  me,  and  take  hold  of  my  covenant,  even 
unto  them  will  I  give,  in  mine  house  and  within  my  walls 
a  place."  Another  striking  passage  in  the  same  prophet 
opened  to  the  Mosaic  system  a  vast  perspective  of  expansion. 
"  In  that  day  shall  five  cities  [the  definite  for  the  indefinite 
number]  in  the  land  of  Egypt  speak  the  language  of  Canaan 
[that  is,  the  language  of  the  worship  of  the  true  God,]  and 
swear  to  the  Lord  of  Hosts.  .  .  .  And  the  Lord  shall  be 
known  to  Egypt.  ...  In  that  day  shall  there  be  a  highway 
out  of  Egypt  to  Assyria,  [frequent  and  intimate  communica 
tion,]  .  .  .  and  the  Egyptians  shall  serve  the  Lord  with  the 
Assyrians.  In  that  day  shall  Israel  be  the  third  with  Egypt 
and  Assyria."  It  was  impossible  more  effectually  to  over- 
throw ancient  particularism  than  by  placing  Israel  as  the  third 
with  strange  nations  in  the  service  of  the  true  God.  The  law 
of  Moses  had  its  court  for  the  men,  more  sacred  and  nearer 
to  the  sanctuary  than  that  of  the  women,  because  it  recognized 
a  shade  of  distinction  in  holiness  between  the  sexes.  All 
ancient  religions  had  sacred  localities,  contracted  creeds,  and 
bigoted  priests,  ready  to  condemn  all  not  born  of  their  own 
caste,  and  sworn  to  their  own  ritual.     But  Christianity  came 


124  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

to  receive  all  nations  and  ranks  by  the  same  title,  into  the 
same  church,  and  lead  them  towards  the  same  immortality. 

As  is  redemption  so  is  revelation,  its  evidence  and  record 
to  man.  As  God  has  granted  to  all  a  remedy  equal  to  the 
evil  of  sin,  so  has  he  granted  light  equivalent  to  the  impor- 
tance of  the  work,  which  is  the  Bible.  From  this,  saving 
thought  reaches  the  soul  of  the  believer,  as  the  sun's  rays 
reach  his  eyes.  It  has  pleased  God  by  religious,  biblical 
teaching,  to  save  them  that  believe.  If  one  denies  inspiration 
because  he  cannot  trace  its  path  to  the  human  mind,  in  order 
to  be  consistent,  he  ought  to  deny  light  because  he  cannot 
explain  the  manner  it  penetrates  to  the  bottom  of  the  eye,  and 
through  a  dark  avenue  kindles  the  brain.  It  is  much  farther 
from  the  retina  which  covers  the  interior  of  the  visual  organ 
to  the  globe  of  the  sun,  than  from  the  soul  of  a  sincere  inquirer 
to  the  spirit  of  God.  "  Say  not  in  thine  heart,  Who  shall 
ascend  into  heaven  ?  that  is,  to  bring  Christ  down ;  or,  Who 
shall  descend  into  the  deep  ?  that  is,  to  bring  up  Christ  again 
from  the  dead.  But  what  saith  it  ?  The  world  is  nigh  thee, 
even  in  thy  mouth,  and  in  thy  heart ;  that  is  the  wTord  of  faith 
which  we  preach."  "  For  God,  who  commanded  the  light  to 
shine  out  of  darkness,  hath  shined  in  our  hearts,  to  give  the 
light  of  the  knowledge  of  the  glory  of  God  in  the  face  of 
Jesus  Christ."  "  God  is  light,"  says  John ;  that  is  to  say, 
perfection,  which  is  the  signification  of  this  term,  often  em- 
ployed in  this  sense  by  Greek  writers.  There  is  nothing  more 
beautiful  than  light,  nothing  more  mysterious,  nothing  more 
necessary,  nothing  more  universally  diffused.  In  this  respect 
is  light  the  best  symbol  of  our  holy  and  expansive  religion, 
which  courts  investigation,  promotes  and  rewards  it ;  never 
more  powerful  than  when  in  contact  with  the  highest  improve- 
ment. It  was  at  the  doors  of  the  great  centres  of  the  civiliza- 
tion of  antiquity  —  Antioch,  Athens,  Corinth,  Ephesus,  Rome, 
and  Alexandria  —  that  it  first  knocked  to  obtain  admission, 
and  thence  flowed  out  in  augmented  streams  of  intelligence 
round  the  globe.     All  the  enterprising  nations  of  antiquity 


THE    SACRIFICE    OF    CHRIST.  125 

inhabited  the  countries  washed  by  the  Mediterranean:  their 
cities  studded  its  coasts  ;  their  fleets  ploughed  its  billows  ;  the 
commerce  of  the  fairest  and  most  potent  ideas  took  place 
for  ages  along  its  shores,  or  from  coast  to  coast ;  the  pagan 
Olympus  was  reflected  in  its  waves,  and  the  genius  of  activity 
seems  to  have  emerged  thence,  as  the  goddess  of  beauty  was 
fabled  there  to  have  been  born.  It  is  a  very  significant  fact, 
that,  at  the  extremity  of  this  great  inland  sea,  and  at  an  equal 
distance  from  the  three  continents — consequently  in  the  very 
centre  of  the  known  world  —  God  placed  the  theatre  of  re- 
demption. This  took  place,  too,  at  the  fearful  moment  when 
evil  had  reached  its  culminating  point ;  when  imagination 
could  conceive  no  excess  left  untried ;  when  the  intellect 
despaired  of  truth,  conscience  of  morality,  and  hope  of  reli- 
gion,—  when  the  manifest  symptoms  of  spiritual  decay  ap- 
peared to  be  consummate  in  the  human  race,  and  nothing 
but  the  cross  of  Christ  could  arrest  the  descent  of  a  revolted 
world  to  eternal  woe. 

Surely  a  godlike  redemption  was  requisite  to  meet  the 
emergency  in  which  man  was  placed  by  sin,  and  this  seems 
to  have  been  felt  by  the  thoughtful  of  every  nation  and  age. 
Cicero,  who  in  his  Republic  painted  so  eloquently  the  gran- 
deur of  human  nature,  could  not  fail  of  being  struck  with  the 
astonishing  contrasts  presented  by  that  nature,  subjected  to 
so  many  miseries,  maladies,  griefs,  fears,  and  devouring  pas- 
sions ;  so  that,  compelled  to  recognize  something  divine  in 
man  so  unhappy  and  so  degraded,  he  called  him  a  soul  in 
ruins.  The  Chinese  have  a  tradition  that  once  man  revolted 
against  his  Maker :  then  the  columns  of  heaven  were  broken  ; 
the  earth  shook  to  its  lowest  foundations ;  the  system  of  the 
universe  was  deranged  ;  the  general  harmony  was  disturbed  ; 
calamities  and  crimes  inundated  the  earth.  But  if  men  the 
most  benighted,  as  well  as  men  the  most  enlightened,  have 
ever  known  and  acknowledged  their  degradation,  they  have 
always  hoped  also  to  be  one  day  reestablished  in  their  primi- 
tive state,  and  this  has  sustained  their  courage.  All  nations 
11* 


126  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

have  lived  in  expectation  of  a  Redeemer,  a  mysterious  and 
divine  person,  who,  according  to  traditions  and  sacred  oracles, 
should  bring  them  deliverance  and  reconciliation  to  God.  This 
the  world  has  received  in  the  marvellous  riches  and  power  of 
the  gospel,  which,  by  the  grandeur  and  fruitful  simplicity  of 
its  doctrines,  develops  and  renovates  reason  ;  by  the  perfec- 
tion of  its  morality,  imparts  a  permanent  base  to  wholesome 
laws ;  by  the  sublimity  of  its  worship,  unites  man  closely  to 
God,  without  reflecting  on  infinite  justice  and  without  flattering 
human  pride;  —  a  glorious  blending  of  truth  and  righteous- 
ness, which  from  so  much  corruption  causes  exalted  virtues 
to  arise  ;  which  before  immense  misery  places  merciful  love 
as  immense,  a  Redeemer  to  expiate  all,  a  Mediator  to  sanctify 
all,  a  godlike  salvation  to  shower  on  all  blessings  every  way 
inexhaustible  and  divine.  The  primary  truth  of  the  gospel 
is,  that  "  Christ  tasted  death  for  every  man  ;  he  gave  himself 
a  ransom  for  all.'"  Even  the  Gentiles,  who  were  without  the 
benefit  of  an  outward  revelation,  were  by  no  means  destitute 
of  an  inward  knowledge  of  the  law  of  God,  and  some  of 
them  showed  "  the  work  of  the  law  written  on  their  hearts, 
their  consciences  also  bearing  witness."  "  Christ  is  the  true 
light  which  lighteth  every  man  that  cometh  into  the  world." 
Hence  we  may  infer  that  as  the  Father  appointed  the  death 
of  the  Son  to  be  a  sacrifice  for  the  sins  of  the  whole  world, 
so  all  men  receive  through  Christ  a  measure  of  moral  and 
spiritual  light,  and  all  have  their  day  of  gracious  visitation. 
The  gospel  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  as  it  is  revealed  in  the 
Bible,  is  designed  for  the  whole  world  ;  it  is  adapted  to  men 
of  every  condition,  clime,  and  character  ;  all  are  invited  to 
avail  themselves  of  its  benefits ;  all  who  will  come,  may 
come,  and  "  take  the  water  of  life  freely." 

If  the  fountains  of  life  are  absolutely  sealed  to  a  single 
mortal ;  if  one  of  our  race,  without  some  crime  of  his  own 
grounded  on  free  choice  abused,  searches  in  vain  for  the  light 
of  which  he  has  need,  and,  opening  his  ear,  does  not  hear  the 
voice  of  God  speaking  within,  then  redemption,  it  must  be 


THE    SACRIFICE    OF    CHRIST.  127 

confessed,  is  not  universal ;  and,  very  distinctly  let  us  add, 
such  a  fact  would  be  the  most  frightful  of  all,  at  once  anti- 
divine  and  anti-human.  But  we  have  not  so  learned  Christ. 
We  rejoice  with  exceeding  joy  in  the  propitiatory  sacrifice  of 
the  Mediator,  and  trust  confidently  in  the  atonement  made  by 
"  the  Lamb  of  God  who  taketh  away  the  sin  of  the  world." 
We  can  conceive  of  no  right  and  availing  preparedness  for  the 
vast  hereafter,  but  such  as  is  grounded  by  faith  in  the  one  perfect 
Sacrifice,  through  renovation  from  the  one  infinite  Spirit,  inspir- 
ing constant  devotion  to  the  service  and  honor  of  the  one 
Almighty  God.  We  look  to  Christ  reconciling  the  world  unto 
himself,  and  not  imputing  unto  them  their  trespasses ;  see  him 
lift  off  from  the  men  of  this  guilty  planet  the  burden  of  the 
violated  law,  bearing  it  himself  in  his  own  body  on  the  tree, 
that  he  may  magnify  that  law,  and  make  it  honorable  :  we 
hear  him  proclaim  a  full  release  from  all  its  tremendous  penal- 
ties, but  in  such  a  way  that  the  truth  which  declared  them,  and 
the  justice  which  should  execute  them,  remain  untainted  under 
a  dispensation  of  mercy,  and  feel  that  the  mild,  peaceful  light 
of  the  Sun  of  Righteousness,  shining  benignly  on  all,  has  great- 
est power  to  melt  the  obdurate  into  penitence,  and  the  believing 
into  joy.  True  religion  is  perfect  reconciliation,  and  is  every 
way  reciprocal  in  its  influence,  as  well  as  ennobling  in  its 
effects.  In  Christ,  all  our  powers,  all  our  faculties,  are  brought 
to  unite  with  God.  He  knows,  and  we  are  made  wise  unto 
salvation.  He  is  holy,  and  the  sinner  is  accepted  through  the 
imputed  righteousness  of  the  sinless  Redeemer.  He  is  supremely 
happy,  and  the  sanctified  soul,  having  partaken  of  the  divine 
nature,  shares  forever  in  the  felicity  of  the  highest  divinity 
whom  it  serves  and  adores.  Thus  Christianity  is  a  bond  which 
time  cannot  loosen  nor  eternity  outlast,  and  if  man  holds  one 
extremity  of  the  chain,  God  holds  the  other. 

The  mysterious  constitution  of  the  person  of  Christ,  and  the 
glorious  atonement  consequent  upon  his  sacrifice,  form  the 
stupendous  link  which  unites  God  and  man,  earth  and  heaven ; 
that  mystic  ladder,  on  which  the  angels  of  God  ascended  and 


128  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

descended,  whose  foot  is  in  the  dust  of  our  sinful  world,  and 
whose  summit  scales  the  pinnacles  of  celestial  glory.  Fully 
to  comprehend  the  obscure  wonders  of  this  theme  is  a  task 
and  a  privilege  reserved  for  the  future  state  ;  the  nature  of  the 
case  forbids  a  perfect  comprehension.    Says  Robert  Hall,  — 

"  It  is  the  greatness  which  forms  the  mystery  of  the  fact ; 
the  matchless  love  and  condescension  constitute  the  very 
nucleus,  of  the  difficulty.  It  could  only  be  brought  within  the 
sphere  of  our  comprehension  by  a  contraction  of  its  vast 
dimensions,  by  a  depression  of  its  native  grandeur.  A  pros- 
tration of  it  to  the  level  of  our  feeble  capacities  would  only 
render  it  incapable  of  being  the  magnet  of  souls,  the  attraction 
of  hearts,  the  wonder  of  the  universe.  The  effect  of  this  great 
fact  on  every  one  who  has  sufficient  humility  to  believe  the 
word  of  God,  is  not  at  all  diminished  by  its  mysterious  grandeur. 
On  the  contrary,  the  fact  itself  is  replete  with  moral  influence 
and  practical  effect.  Could  the  whole  theory  of  the  incarna- 
tion be  laid  open  to  our  view,  no  additional  force  would  be 
given  to  those  motives  to  fervent  gratitude  and  devotedness  to 
the  service  of  our  Redeemer  which  the  mere  fact  is  adapted 
to  inspire.  The  practical  influence  is  not  at  all  impaired,  but 
rather  heightened,  by  the  speculative  difficulties  which  attend 
it,  because  they  result  merely  from  its  ineffable  grandeur.  The 
same  may  be  said  with  respect  to  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity. 
The  distinct  parts  assigned  to  the  three  divine  persons  exhibit 
the  beautiful  harmony  of  the  plan  of  redemption  ;  the  Father 
sending  his  Son,  the  Son  executing  his  Father's  will,  the  Holy 
Spirit  sanctifying  the  people  of  God  by  dwelling  in  their  hearts. 
These  truths  are  not  less  practical  because  of  the  mystery 
which  attends  the  doctrine.  We  are  as  able  to  adore  the  grace 
of  the  Father,  the  love  of  the  Son,  the  communion  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  to  value  the  distinct  agency  of  the  several  persons  in 
the  work  of  our  salvation,  as  if  we  could  perceive  the  theory 
of  this  unspeakable  mystery. 

"  With  regard  to  the  doctrine  of  the  atonement,  we  are  taught 
all  that  it  is  necessary  for  us  to  know  —  that  the  blood  of  Jesus 


•  THE    SACRIFICE    OF    CHRIST.  129 

Christ  is  the  price  of  our  redemption,  and  that  it  was  infinitely 
worthy  of  God,  '  in  bringing  many  sons  unto  glory,  to  make 
the  Captain  of  their  salvation  perfect  through  sufferings.''  We 
can  perceive,  in  some  degree,  its  tendency  to  advance  and 
maintain  the  honor  of  God,  as  Moral  Governor  of  the  world. 
But  many  questions  may  be  proposed,  with  respect  to  the 
extent  of  its  efficacy,  which  our  reason  cannot  penetrate. 
What  connection  this  great  sacrifice  may  have  with  the  happi- 
ness, what  influence  on  the  destiny,  of  beings  of  a  higher 
order,  of  which  the  Scriptures  give  some  faint  intimation,  we 
have  no  distinct  and  satisfactory  knowledge ;  but  this  affords 
no  objection  to  the  testimony  they  contain,  that  '  for  us  men, 
and  for  our  salvation,'  the  Son  of  God  became  incarnate, 
suffered,  and  died.  It  is  worthy  of  the  reserve  of  Infinite 
Majesty  to  give  us  very  brief  hints  with  respect  to  the  influence 
of  these  great  facts  on  the  innocent  and  holy  part  of  creation, 
to  the  utmost  extent  of  his  dominions." 

It  is  with  the  practical  character  of  the  atonement,  rather 
than  with  its  speculative  aspects,  that  we  as  sinners  have  to  do  ; 
and  it  is  enough  for  us  to  know  that,  however  far  the  radiance 
of  the  cross  may  flow  beyond  the  domains  of  humanity,  it  at 
least  includes  all  our  race.  Christianity  was  designed  for  the 
whole  world,  not  merely  as  a  system  of  instruction,  but  an 
awakening,  an  appeal,  the  means  and  source  of  spiritual  life. 
Its  Founder  taught  every  truth,  performed  every  miracle,  em- 
ployed every  agency,  moved  every  part  of  the  universe, 
exhibited  every  perfection  of  the  divine  character,  which  was 
in  the  least  essential  to  the  instruction  and  salvation  of  man- 
kind. True  Christian  liberty  consists  in  a  common  gospel  for 
all,  unfolding  its  sacred  records  for  general  instruction,  and 
bestowing  the  spirit  of  all  grace  to  seal  each  believer  unto 
eternal  life.  It  does  not  necessarily  follow  that  all  will  avail 
themselves  of  the  means  of  salvation  which  infinite  love  has  so 
amply  provided,  or  that  all  the  disciples  of  our  blessed  Lord 
attain  unto  the  same  degree  of  progress,  but  that  resources 
adapted  to  every  possible  want  are  proffered  to  each  without 


130  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

money  or  price.  "  There  is  one  body  and  one  spirit,  even  as 
ye  are  called  in  one  hope  of  your  calling  ;  one  Lord,  one 
faith,  one  baptism,  one  God  and  Father  of  all."  "  But  unto 
every  one  of  us  is  given  grace  according  to  the  measure  of 
the  gift  of  Christ ; "  and  it  is  Christ  "  from  whom  the  whole 
body,  fitly  joined  together  and  compacted  by  that  which  every 
joint  supplieth,  according  to  the  effectual  working  in  the 
measure  of  every  part,  maketh  increase  of  the  body  unto  the 
edifying  of  itself  in  love."  We  can  no  more  conceive  of  the 
means  of  salvation  being  limited,  than  we  can  conceive  of  a 
limit  to  the  affections  of  an  infinite  God  ;  the  capaciousness 
of  both  of  which  gloriously  characterizes  the  whole  New 
Testament,  and  at  its  close  bursts  forth  in  the  overwhelming 
eloquence  of  mercy  and  love,  the  epitome  of  the  entire  gos- 
pel :  "  The  spirit  and  the  bride  say,  Come.  And  let  him  that 
heareth  say,  Come.  And  let  him  that  is  athirst  come.  And 
whosoever  will,  let  him  take  the  water  of  life  freely." 

Herein  we  have  attempted  to  show  that  Christ  died  for  the 
wretched,  whose  sorrows  he  felt ;  that  he  thereby  atoned  for 
the  sinful,  whose  guilt  he  assumed  ;  and  that  he  triumphed 
alone  on  the  cross  in  gloom,  that  he  might  open  the  gates  of 
glory  to  all,  and  proffer  to  each  a  crown.  From  this  whole 
discussion  we  deduce  three  points. 

First,  the  divine  atonement  is  unlimited,  and  all  of  us  should 
avail  ourselves  of  its  saving  power.  We  are  aware  that  some 
think  this  a  too  generous  view  of  the  gospel.  They  profess 
to  believe  that  its  worth  is  vitiated,  and  its  Author  dishonored, 
by  such  a  wide  expansion  and  comprehensive  grasp.  They 
look  rather  for  a  monopoly  of  heavenly  grace,  and  will  be 
very  sure  to  regard  themselves,  the  special  and  selected  fa- 
vorites of  predestined  life.  Christ  found  the  earth  burdened 
with  such,  and  strove  with  all  his  might  to  drive  them  from  the 
altars  they  disgraced,  while  standing  and  thanking  God  heart- 
lessly that  they  were  not  as  other  men  are  ;  and  planted  purer 
examples  along  the  highway  of  salvation,  which  they  encum- 
bered in  arrogant  and  hypocritical  display  of  fine  morality,  not 


THE    SACRIFICE    OF   CHRIST.  131 

in  their  daily  life,  but  patched  on  their  garment's  filthy  hem. 
These  were  the  bigots  of  an  earlier  age,  who  were  accustomed 
to  speak  of  themselves  as  chosen  of  God,  before  all  meaner 
creatures,  holy  and  clean  ;  while  the  Gentile  nations  were  sin- 
ners beyond  the  reach  of  salvation,  reprobate  dogs.  And  why 
was  this  ?  It  was  because  they,  like  the  Pharisees  of  modern 
times,  clung  to  the  dogma,  "  out  of  their  church,  no  salvation  ;" 
the  latent  principle  of  death  in  all  those  sects  which  have 
embraced  or  ever  do  embrace  such  a  creed. 

The  immediate  influence  of  teaching  like  this  is  bad  enough, 
leading  the  hearer  stupidly  to  wait  for  conversion,  if  that  chances 
to  be  "a  fixed  fact"  in  his  case,  as  a  dead  tree  stands  on  a 
dreary  mountain  top  to  be  struck  by  lightning,  should  a  sov- 
ereign cloud,  in  passing,  vouchsafe  it  an  irresistible  bolt. 
But  the  hereditary  influence  of  such  doctrine  is,  if  possible, 
still  more  pernicious.  Who  can  read,  without  horror,  the  state- 
ments in  some  standard  works  ?  One  says,  "  God  by  his  own 
will  has  made  the  frightful  difference  between  the  elect  and  the 
reprobate."  Another  asserts  that  "  God  needed,  anterior  to 
the  foresight  of  original  sin,  to  predestinate  some  and  condemn 
others  ;  all  this  is  arbitrary  in  God."  While  a  third,  still  more 
orthodox  in  the  faith  of  that  age,  declares,  "  Jesus  Christ  no 
more  died  for  the  salvation  of  those  who  are  not  elected,  than 
he  died  for  the  salvation  of  the  devil."  It  was  only  one  step 
farther  that  a  disciple  of  the  same  school  went,  when,  at  the 
funeral  of  a  woman  who  died  in  childbirth,  he  stated,  for  the 
edification  of  the  faithful  and  consolation  of  all  the  bereaved, 
that  "  it  is  certain  that  the  devil  possesses  the  soul  of  a  little 
infant  in  the  womb  of  its  mother."  This  theology,  in  all  its 
glory  every  where,  we  think,  comes  from  Man,  and  not  from 
Jesus  Christ.  It  has  little  affinity  for  the  cross,  when  he  who 
dies  thereon,  the  Savior  of  the  world,  cries,  "  It  is  finished" 
—  the  veil  of  the  temple  is  rent  in  twain,  and  every  barrier 
between  the  ranks  of  men  broken  down — in  this  preternatural 
gloom  the  Sun  of  Righteousness  is  apparently  extinguished  here 
in  this  place  of  a  skull,  overlooking  the  metropolis  of  a  limited 


132  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

dispensation  henceforth  dead,  only  to  kindle  every  star  of 
heaven,  every  page  of  Scripture,  and  every  rood  of  earth  all 
a-blaze  with  the  light  of  salvation  for  every  eye.  It  is  here,  on 
the  ragged  irons,  in  the  expiring  moanings  of  Him  "  in  whom 
dwells  all  the  fulness  of  the  Godhead  bodily,"  and  "  who 
tastes  death  for  every  man,"  that  a  meaning  high  as  heaven, 
deep  as  hell,  and  wide  as  the  outskirts  of  creation,  is  given  to 
his  own  gracious  words  :  "  Come  unto  me,  all  ye  that  labor  and 
are  heavy  laden,  and  I  will  give  you  rest."  "  The  living 
heavens  shout  with  thousands  of  angel  voices  round  the  throne, 
and  a  glory  of  love  gushes  out  over  the  universe,  which  shortly 
before  had  fastened  its  looks  upon  a  fearful  place  of  sacrifice." 
In  the  second  place,  redemption  does  not  infringe  upon  free 
will,  and  all  should  profit  to  the  utmost  by  its  sanctifying  and 
ennobling  influence.  Since  freedom  of  action  is  the  principal 
and  indispensable  means  of  progress,  the  very  object  of  re- 
demption is  to  lead  men  to,  and  confirm  them  in,  the  path  of 
perpetual  advancement.  From  the  very  dawn  of  the  gospel, 
the  free  use  which  would  be  made  of  it  was  announced: 
"  Simeon  said  unto  Mary,  his  mother,  Behold,  this  child  is  set 
for  the  fall  and  rising  again  of  many  in  Israel,  and  for  a  sign 
which  shall  be  spoken  against."  To  be  compelled  to  carry 
the  cross  of  Christ  is  not  to  "  take  up "  his  cross.  In  his 
lamentation  over  Jerusalem,  whose  inhabitants  he  "  would  have 
gathered  together,  even  as  a  hen  gathereth  her  chickens  under 
her  wings,"  Jesus  utters  the  simple  but  terrible  reproach,  "  ye 
would  not."  This  free  use  of  Christianity  goes  even  so  far, 
that,  from  being  the  chief  instrument  of  peace,  it  may  be  per- 
verted to  the  occasion  of  war ;  this  Jesus  declared :  "  Think 
not  I  am  come  to  send  peace  on  earth ;  I  am  not  come  to  send 
peace,  but  a  sword  ;  for  I  am  come  to  set  a  man  at  variance 
against  his  father,  and  the  daughter  against  her  mother,  and 
the  daughter-in-law  against  her  mother-in-law;  and  a  man's 
foes  shall  be  they  of  his  own  household."  "  I  am  come  to 
send  fire  on  the  earth ;  and  what  shall  I  if  it  be  already  kin* 
died  ?  "     It  is  as  an  explicit  recognition  of  free  will  under  the 


THE    SACRIFICE    OF    CHRIST.  133 

power  of  redemption,  that  the  angel  says  to  the  apostle  :  "  He 
that  is  unjust,  let  him  be  unjust  still ;  and  he  that  is  righteous, 
let  him  be  righteous  still ;  and  he  that  is  holy,  let  him  be  holy 
still." 

Christianity  leaves  the  mind  of  the  individual,  as  well  as  the 
civilization  of  the  masses,  to  its  own  free  course  of  develop- 
ment, sure  that  the  divine  principles  of  purity  and  love  it 
implants  will  suffice  to  moderate  and  guide  it,  so  that  excesses 
of  all  kinds  and  differences  repugnant  to  its  spirit,  of  every 
degree,  will  be  either  restrained  or  averted.  Independent  of 
every  thing  earthly,  temporal,  and  transient ;  independent  of 
nature,  which  is  merely  the  domain  on  which  it  toils  and  its 
progress  is  accomplished  ;  and  independent  of  mankind,  which 
is  its  pupil  and  beneficiary,  Christianity  is  divine,  and  therefore 
cannot  be  destroyed ;  it  is  the  soul  and  substance  of  perfect 
freedom,  and  therefore  is  too  mighty  for  sectarian  chains,  and 
too  capacious  for  exclusive  creeds.  It  is  a  beneficent  and  all- 
blessing  spirit,  like  the  sun  shining  on  the  imbecile  and  blind. 
It  gently  permeates  the  arteries  and  veins  of  the  whole  social 
system,  softens  manners,  calms  hatred,  enlarges  sympathy, 
expands  benevolence,  and  every  way  exalts  and  ennobles  the 
soul.  Let  us  be  most  anxious  to  imbibe  this  influence,  and 
thus  become  "  filled  with  all  the  fulness  of  God." 

Thirdly,  Christianity  being  designed  for  the  world,  it  is  our 
first  duty  and  highest  privilege  to  exert  our  utmost  powers  in 
diffusing  this  invaluable  treasure  among  all  mankind.  Every 
one  who  truly  receives  the  gospel,  and  by  it  is  made  anew  after 
God's  image,  has,  by  the  very  nature  of  his  renovated  affec- 
tions, an  inclination  and  indescribable  joy  in  rendering  the  gift 
of  inspiration  saving  to  others,  as  it  has  been  to  himself.  This 
sentiment  was  sublimely  expressed  by  the  apostle  Paul :  "  Fulfil 
ye  my  joy,  that  ye  be  like-minded,  having  the  same  love,  being 
of  one  accord,  of  one  mind.  Yea,  and  if  I  be  offered  on  the 
sacrifice  and  service  of  your  faith,  I  joy  and  rejoice  with  you 
all "  —  he  the  missionary,  they  his  supporters,  and  co-workers 
at  home,  all  loving  and  toiling  together  to  fill  the  earth  with  the 
12 


134  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

knowledge  of  Jesus  Christ.  "  We  have  this  treasure  in  earthen 
vessels,  that  the  excellency  of  the  power  may  be  of  God,  and 
not  of  us."  The  means  of  distribution  are  earthen,  adapted 
to  every  section  of  our  globe,  and  the  most  solemn  obligations 
require  that  the  disciples  of  Christ  should  go  every  where, 
diffusing  light,  life,  and  immortal  joy.  This  is  God's  gift  to 
humanity,  and  is  to  be  bestowed  without  respect  to  condition 
or  rank.  We  are  appointed  to  carry  out,  along  every  meridian 
and  through  every  zone,  the  whole  Bible  and  the  gospel  entire, 
not  the  religion  of  a  sect  or  section,  but  the  Christianity  of 
Christ,  a  divinely  original,  majestic,  beneficent,  godlike  type, 
as  it  is  found  in  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  and  is  destined  to  be  exem- 
plified in  all  the  world. 


PART  II 


THE   REPUBLICAN   CONSTITUTION 
OF  THE  PRIMITIVE   CHURCH. 


"  Being  persuaded  of  nothing  more  than  of  this,  that  whether  it  be 
in  matter  of  speculation  or  of  practice,  no  untruth  can  possibly  avail  the 
patron  and  defender  long,  and  that  things  most  truly  are  likewise  most 
behovefully  spoken."  —  Hooker's  Polity. 

"To  endeavor  to  impose  our  sentiments  by  force,  is  the  most  detestable 
species  of  persecution.  Others  are  as  much  entitled  to  deem  themselves 
in  the  right  as  we  are."  —  Godwin's  Political  Justice. 

"They  who  contend  that  nothing  less  can  justify  subscription  to  the 
Thirty-nine  Articles,  than  the  actual  belief  of  each  and  every  separate 
proposition  contained  in  them,  must  suppose  that  the  legislature  expected 
the  consent  of  ten  thousand  men,  and  that  in  perpetual  succession,  not  to 
one  controverted  proposition,  but  to  many  hundreds."  —  Paley's  Moral 
Philosophy. 

"  Christianity  will  civilize,  it  is  true  ;  but  it  is  only  when  it  is  allowed  to 
develop  the  energies  by  which  it  sanctifies.  Christianity  will  inconceiv- 
ably ameliorate  the  condition  of  being.  Who  doubts  it  ?  Its  universal 
prevalence,  not  in  name,  but  in  reality,  will  convert  this  world  into  a 
semi-paradisiacal  state ;  but  it  is  only  while  it  is  permitted  to  prepare  its 
inhabitants  for  a  better.  Let  her  be  urged  to  forget  her  celestial  origin 
and  destiny,  —  to  forget  that  she  came  from  God,  and  returns  to  God; 
and,  whether  employed  by  the  artful  and  enterprising,  as  the  instrument 
of  establishing  a  spiritual  empire  and  dominion  over  mankind,  or  by  the 
philanthropist,  as  the  means  of  promoting  their  civilization  and  improve- 
ment, she  resents  the  foul  indignity,  claps  her  wings,  and  takes  her  flight, 
leaving  nothing  but  a  base  and  sanctimonious  hypocrisy  in  her  room."  — 
Hall's  Address  to  Eustace  Carey.  m 

"  La  revolution  est  tout  entiere  dans  l'Evangile.  Nulle  part  la  cause 
du  peuple  n'a  ete  plus  energiquement  plaidee,  nulle  part  plus  de  maledic- 
tions n'ont  ete  infiigee  aux  riches  et  aux  puissants  de  ce  monde.  Jesus 
Christ  est  notre  maitre  a  tous."  — Les  Girondins. 

"  My  kingdom  is  not  of  this  world." 

"  Render  therefore  unto  Ceesar  the  things  which  are  Caesar's  ;  and  unto 
God  the  things  that  are  God's."  — Jesus  Christ. 


CHAPTER    I. 

THE    CHURCH    WITHOUT    A    KING. 

The  policy  of  kings  and  the  avarice  of  priests  have  ever 
sought  to  blend  religion  with  civil  power,  and  make  the  church 
an  appendage  of  the  state.  But  every  such  attempt  has  served 
only  to  emasculate  Christianity  of  its  true  force,  and  utterly  to 
destroy  its  greatest  glory.  Such  results  might  indeed  be 
expected;  since,  as  John  records,  Jesus  himself  declared, — 
"  My  kingdom  is  not  of  this  world."  When  human  power 
subordinates  the  altar  as  a  prop  to  its  throne,  earthly  majesty  is 
sure  to  receive  much  more  of  the  incense  than  the  King  of 
heaven,  whose  divine  prerogative  alone  it  is  to  govern  the 
spirits  of  men.  That  kingdom,  whose  comprehensive  rule 
embraces  at  once  the  highest  and  the  lowest  ranks  of  our  race, 
has  nothing  to  do  with  our  petty  affairs  of  state,  and  seeks  no 
protection  save  the  right  of  free  discussion,  and  unimpeded 
intercourse  with  all  mankind. 

Such,  doubtless,  were  the  nature  and  original  design  of  our 
holy  religion  ;  but  its  high  use  and  beneficent  influence  have  as 
yet  been  but  partially  enjoyed.  Primitive  purity  was  soon  cor- 
rupted, and  secular  alliances  fearfully  dwarfed  and  degraded 
those  ennobling  institutions  which  were  vouchsafed  to  disinthrall 
and  bless  the  world.  Let  us  glance  at  the  history  of  the  alli- 
ance between  church  and  king  ;  the  nature  of  this  relationship  ; 
and  its  results. 

In  the  first  place,  our  discussion  requires  an  historical  glance 
at  the  great  evil  the  world  has  so  long  had  occasion  to  deplore. 
But  it  is  not  our  intention  to  go  into  minute  details.  All  intel- 
ligent persons  are  familiar  with  the  circumstances  under  which 
Constantine,  in  the  fourth  century  of  the  Christian  era,  seized 


THE   CHURCH   WITHOUT   A   KING.  137 

upon  supreme  power  in  ecclesiastical  as  well  as  civil  affairs, 
and  in  his  own  person  exercised  absolute  control  over  both. 
Others  succeeded  him  in  like  domination,  increasing  the 
pressure  of  their  sway,  and  darkening  the  world.  But  despite 
the  evil  influence  of  imperial  dictation,  Christianity  for  a  long 
time  maintained  something  of  its  primitive  elasticity,  and  nobly 
resisted  the  oppression  it  endured.  In  her  darkest  hour  and 
most  crippled  condition,  she  was  conservative  of  all  that  was 
valuable  in  the  past,  and  the  herald  of  a  much  more  auspi- 
cious future.  Numerous  laws  and  facts  might  be  cited  to  show 
very  strikingly,  that  between  the  Roman  municipal  system  and 
that  of  the  free  cities  of  the  middle  ages,  there  intervened 
an  ecclesiastical  municipal  system  ;  the  preponderance  of  the 
clergy  in  conducting  civil  affairs  succeeded  to  that  of  the  an- 
cient Roman  magistrates,  and  paved  the  way  for  the  organiza- 
tion of  our  modern  free  institutions.  It  is  easy  to  see  that  the 
church  gained  a  vast  accession  of  power  by  these  means,  not 
only  within  its  own  appropriate  sphere,  but  also  in  the  circles 
of  those  with  whom  it  united  in  temporal  matters.  It  is  from 
this  period  its  influence  began  powerfully  to  promote  the  ad- 
vance of  modern  civilization. 

Says  Guizot,  "  It  was  of  immense  advantage  to  European 
civilization  that  a  moral  influence,  a  moral  power,  a  power 
resting  entirely  upon  moral  convictions,  upon  moral  opinions 
and  sentiments,  should  have  established  itself  in  society,  just 
at  this  period,  when  it  seemed  upon  the  point  of  being  crushed 
by  the  overwhelming  physical  force  which  had  taken  posses- 
sion of  it.  Had  not  the  Christian  church  at  this  time  existed, 
the  whole  world  must  have  fallen  a  prey  to  mere  brute  force. 
The  Christian  church  alone  possessed  a  moral  power ;  it  main- 
tained and  promulgated  the  idea  of  a  precept,  of  a  law  supe- 
rior to  all  human  authority  ;  it  proclaimed  that  great  truth 
which  forms  the  only  foundation  of  our  hope  for  humanity  ; 
namely,  that  there  exists  a  law  above  all  human  law,  which, 
by  whatever  name  it  may  be  called,  whether  reason,  the  law 
12* 


138  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

of  God,  or  what  not,  is,  in  all  times  and  in  all  places,  the  same 
law  under  different  names." 

In  the  fifth  century,  the  church  began  an  undertaking  of 
great  importance  to  society  —  the  separation  of  temporal  and 
spiritual  authority.  "  This  separation,"  continues  the  same 
historian,  "is  the  only  true  source  of  liberty  of  conscience;  it 
was  based  upon  no  other  principle  than  that  which  serves  as 
the  groundwork  for  the  strictest  and  most  extensive  liberty  of 
conscience.  The  separation  of  temporal  and  spiritual  powers 
rests  solely  upon  the  idea  that  physical  and  brute  force  has  no 
right  or  authority  over  the  mind,  over  convictions,  over  truth. 
It  flows  from  the  distinction  established  between  the  world  of 
thought  and  the  world  of  action,  between  our  inward  and  in- 
tellectual nature  and  the  outward  world  around  us.  So  that, 
however  paradoxical  it  may  seem,  that  very  principle  of  liberty 
of  conscience  for  which  Europe  has  so  long  struggled,  so  much 
suffered,  which  has  only  so  lately  prevailed,  and  that,  in  many 
instances,  against  the  will  of  the  clergy,  —  that  very  principle 
was  acted  upon  under  the  name  of  a  separation  of  the  tem- 
poral and  spiritual  power,  in  the  infancy  of  European  civiliza- 
tion. It  was,  moreover,  the  Christian  church  itself,  driven  to 
assert  it  by  the  circumstances  in  which  it  was  placed,  as  a 
means  of  defence  against  barbarism,  that  introduced  and  main- 
tained it. 

"  The  establishment,  then,  of  a  moral  influence,  the  main- 
tenance of  this  divine  law,  and  the  separation  of  temporal  and 
spiritual  power,  may  be  enumerated  as  the  great  benefits  which 
the  Christian  church  extended  to  European  society  in  the  fifth 
century. 

"  Unfortunately  all  its  influences,  even  at  this  period,  were 
not  equally  beneficial.  Already,  even  before  the  close  of  the 
fifth  century,  we  discover  some  of  those  vicious  principles 
which  have  had  so  baneful  an  effect  on  the  advancement  of  our 
civilization.  There  already  prevailed  in  the  bosom  of  the 
church  a  desire  to  separate  the  governing  and  the  governed. 


THE    CHURCH    WITHOUT    A    KING.  139 

The  attempt  was  thus  early  made  to  render  the  government 
entirely  independent  of  the  people  under  its  authority  —  to  take 
possession  of  their  mind  and  life,  without  the  conviction  of  their 
reason  or  the  consent  of  their  will.  The  church,  moreover, 
endeavored,  with  all  her  might,  to  establish  the  principle  of  the- 
ocracy, to  usurp  temporal  authority,  to  obtain  universal  domin- 
ion. And  when  she  failed  in  this,  when  she  found  she  could 
not  obtain  absolute  power  for  herself,  she  did  what  was  almost 
as  bad :  to  obtain  a  share  of  it,  she  leagued  herself  with  tem- 
poral rulers,  and  enforced,  with  all  her  might,  their  claim  to 
absolute  power  at  the  expense  of  the  liberty  of  the  subject." 

From  the  beginning  of  the  sixth  century,  as  the  alliance  be- 
tween church  and  state  grew  much  more  intimate,  the  progress 
of  deterioration  rapidly  and  wretchedly  advanced  down  to  the 
fifteenth  century,  when,  on  the  occasion  of  the  martyrdom  of 
Huss  by  the  council  of  Constance,  the  emperor  Sigismond 
seated  himself  by  the  side  of  the  infamous  pope  Balthasar 
Cossa,  his  soul  tormented  with  remorse,  and  his  hands  stained 
with  blood.     In  the  words  of  Pollok, — 

"Then  was  the  evil  day  of  tyranny, 
Of  kingly  and  of  priestly  tyranny, 
That  bruised  the  nations  long.     As  yet,  no  state 
Beneath  the  heavens  had  tasted  freedom's  wine, 
Though  loud  of  freedom  was  the  talk  of  all. 
Some  groaned  more  deeply,  being  heavier  tasked ; 
Some  wrought  with  straw,  and  some  without ;  but  all 
Were  slaves,  or  meant  to  be ;  for  rulers  still 
Had  been  of  equal  mind  —  excepting  few  — 
Cruel,  rapacious,  tyrannous,  and  vile, 
And  had  with  equal  shoulder  propped  the  Beast. 
As  yet,  the  Church,  the  holy  spouse  of  God, 
In  members  few,  had  wandered  in  her  weeds 
Of  mourning,  persecuted,  scorned,  reproached, 
And  buffeted,  and  killed  —  in  members  few, 
Though  seeming  many  whiles  ;  then  fewest  oft 
When  seeming  most.     She  still  had  hung  her  harp 
Upon  the  willow-tree,  and  sighed  and  wept 
From  age  to  age." 


140  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

But  this  evil  is  not  confined  to  what  we  are  accustomed  to 
term  "  the  dark  ages."  All  history  and  observation  attest  the 
danger,  the  fearful  curse,  connected  with  the  insurmountable 
vice  of  absolute  power,  wheresoever  it  may  exist,  whatso- 
ever name  it  may  bear,  and  for  whatever  object  it  may  be 
exercised.  The  religious  influence  of  an  unlimited  monarch 
is  often  as  dangerous  as  the  rankest  impiety.  In  the  middle 
of  the  nineteenth  century,  it  is  easy  to  perceive  from  the  proc- 
lamations issued  by  Nicholas,  that  he  considers  God  as  the 
guardian  of  legitimate  kings,  and  the  special  patron  of  Russia's 
autocrat.  Aided  by  a  sycophantic  hierarchy,  he  has  contrived 
to  throw  an  air  of  sanctity  over  his  infamous  usurpations  ;  with 
pious  pretensions  extirpates  a  noble  race,  and,  in  the  name  of 
a  merciful  God,  drenches  their  country  in  blood. 

There  is  something  supremely  frightful  in  the  idea  of  one 
man  fastening  chains  on  a  whole  people,  and  crushing  millions 
beneath  his  iron  heel ;  of  tyrannical  dictation  to  those  millions 
in  matters  of  eternal  moment,  so  that  the  entire  country  they 
have  received  from  God  is  overshadowed  and  desolated  by  the 
despotism  of  a  frail  fellow-being.  In  view  of  the  invasion  of 
Greece  by  Darius,  Diogenes  is  represented  as  having  said, 
"An  Athenian  is  more  degraded  by  becoming  the  counsellor 
of  a  king,  than  a  king  is  degraded  by  becoming  the  school- 
master of  paupers  in  a  free  city.  Such  people  as  Dionysius 
are  to  be  approached  by  the  brave  and  honest  from  two  motives 
only  —  to  convince  them  of  their  inutility,  and  to  slay  them 
for  their  iniquity.  Our  fathers  and  ourselves  have  witnessed 
in  more  than  one  countiy  the  curses  of  kingly  power.  All 
nations,  all  cities,  all  communities,  should  enter  into  one  great 
hunt,  like  those  of  the  Scythians  at  the  approach  of  winter, 
and  should  follow  it  up  unrelentingly  to  its  perdition.  The 
diadem  should  designate  the  victim.  All  who  wear  it,  all  who 
offer  it,  and  all  who  bow  to  it,  should  perish.  The  smallest, 
the  poorest,  the  least  accessible  villages,  whose  cottages  are 
indistinguishable  from  the  rocks  around,  should  offer  a  reward 
for  the  heads  of  these  monsters,  as  for  the  wolf's,  the  kite's, 
and  the  viper's." 


THE    CHURCH   WITHOUT   A   KING.  141 

But  regal  power  is  a  more  pernicious  impediment  to  religious 
progress  than  it  was  to  ancient  freedom  ;  and  the  Christian  has 
occasion  to  deprecate  its  influence  as  earnestly  as  did  Athena's 
sage.  What  can  possibly  justify  the  transformation  of  im- 
mortal men  into  the  mere  echo  and  image  of  one  unbridled 
tyrant,  who  is  bowed  to  as  a  God  ?  The  soul  has  become  a 
wretched  thing  indeed,  when  it  is  compelled  implicitly  to  obey 
a  foreign  will  as  a  despotism  with  which  it  is  foolish  to  strug- 
gle, and  which  it  is  vain  to  resist.  All  such  obedience  is 
mechanical,  grudging,  constrained.  It  wants  the  elasticity  of 
faith  and  the  spontaneousness  of  love.  All  persons  would  im- 
mediately rebel  against  this  iron  yoke,  only  that  they  some- 
times have  been  so  long  serfs  that  they  have  lost  the  courage 
to  rebel.  If  they  partially  escape  from  their  thraldom,  they 
are  quite  likely  soon  again  to  bow  with  a  still  more  crouching 
and  cowardly  prostration  to  the  tyranny  that  has  already  fet- 
tered them.  Thus,  in  harmony  with  the  example  of  Luther, 
and  the  example  of  Calvin,  Voltaire  preached  at  the  same  time 
revolt  against  spiritual  authorities,  and  submission  to  temporal 
power.  The  reformation  was  far  from  being  complete,  because 
its  leaders  continued  to  be  the  helots  of  the  state.  They 
violently  denounced  the  true  reformers,  who,  applying  the  same 
principles  to  political  oppression  as  to  religious,  sought  to 
emancipate  the  nations  from  this  craven  slavery,  and  bring  all 
mankind  into  the  free,  the  joyous  and  energetic  service  of  their 
Father,  God.  We  shall  hereafter  have  occasion  to  discuss  this 
point  at  large. 

If  the  reformation  was  imperfect  in  Germany,  it  was  vastly 
worse  in  England.  "The  best  and  most  perfect  church  in  the 
world,"  it  should  ever  be  remembered,  was  founded  by  that 
meek  and  immaculate  "  Defender  of  the  Faith,"  Henry  VIII. 
This  title  was  conferred  upon  him  by  the  pope  for  writing  a 
pamphlet  against  Luther,  and  was  a  reward  to  the  Protestant 
crown  for  its  first  blow  against  the  infant  Protestant  cause. 
Through  a  career  of  frightful  licentiousness  and  blood,  the  king 
pursued  his  course  in  establishing  the  English  church  in  igno- 


142  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

ranee  and  bigotry.  While  Luther  was  translating  the  Bible 
into  his  native  tongue,  and  diffusing  it  all  over  Germany, 
Henry,  this  first  "  head  of  the  church,"  was  intriguing  to  get 
Tyndal,  the  early  English  translator,  persecuted  to  death  in 
Holland,  and  was  issuing  his  royal  pious  proclamations  that 
the  Bible  should  not  be  read  by  the  working  men,  or  any 
woman  whatever,  except  by  the  special  permission  of  the 
priest.  In  Germany,  notwithstanding  the  leaders  feared  to  go 
the  whole  length  for  freedom,  the  popular  feeling  spread  itself 
rapidly  ;  but  in  England,  aristocratical  cupidity,  state  patronage, 
and  priestly  influence,  connected  themselves  with  every  depart- 
ment of  what  was  called  the  reformed  religion  of  the  country, 
and,  from  that  day  to  this,  either  shut  out  all  education  from 
the  masses  of  the  people,  or  made  it  the  mere  tool  of  ecclesi- 
astical power. 

If  any  religious  institution  in  the  world  deserves  to  be  called 
a  creature  of  the  state,  it  is  the  Protestant  church  of  England. 
It  was  shaped  originally  very  much  after  a  wretched  king's 
own  will,  and  has  been  the  dupe  and  tool  of  bigoted  kingcraft 
ever  since.  It  is  surprising  that  a  people  generally  so  sturdy 
and  sound-hearted  could  tamely  submit  to  dictation,  in  mat- 
ters .of  religion,  under  such  creatures  as  Henry  VIII.,  Edward 
VI.,  Mary,  and  Elizabeth.  The  most  melancholy  feature 
of  all  is,  that  religious  functionaries  of  every  order,  from 
the  lowest  to  the  highest,  continue  with  impunity  to  advocate 
"  the  divine  right  of  kings  to  govern  wrong."  It  is  not  long 
since  that  a  lordly  bishop,  in  a  sermon  before  the  House  of 
Lords,  declared  that  "  the  divine  right  of  the  first  magistrate, 
in  every  polity,  to  the  citizen's  obedience,  is  not  of  that  sort 
which  it  were  high  treason  to  claim  for  the  sovereign  of  this 
country.  It  is  a  right  which  in  no  country  can  be  denied, 
without  the  highest  of  all  treasons.  The  denial  of  it  were  trea- 
son against  the  paramount  authority  of  God,"  This  ridicu- 
lous, if  not  impious,  claim  set  up  by  one  of  the  lordships  of  the 
realm,  in  favor  of  the  absolute  authority  of  the  sovereign, 
masculine  or  feminine,  adult  or  babeling,  is  urged  by  a  promi- 


THE    CHURCH    WITHOUT   A   KING.  143 

nent  religious  satellite  near  the  regal  sphere,  and  is  a  striking 
instance  and  illustration  of  the  pernicious  alliance  between 
church  and  king.  Fearful,  indeed,  is  that  consolidation  of 
selfishness  and  tyranny, 

"  That  sets  the  emaciate  wolf  to  dog  the  flock, 
The  hawk  to  guard  the  dove-cote  !  " 

In  the  second  place,  let  us  look  more  minutely  into  the 
nature  of  the  relationship  which  royal  ambition  is  so  prompt  to 
form  between  the  church  and  state. 

In  former  discussions,  we  have  shown  that  the  sole  object  of 
Jesus  was  to  instruct  the  world  in  true  religion,  and  labor  for 
the  moral  improvement  of  all  mankind.  He  never  appeared  with 
the  arrogance  and  importunity  of  a  boisterous  demagogue,  but 
always  in  the  peaceful  character  of  a  teacher  from  heaven, 
who  had  the  instruction  and  salvation  of  his  fellow-citizens 
supremely  at  heart.  He  even  pronounced  those  the  best  fitted 
for  the  kingdom  of  God,  who  possess  a  feeling  of  universal 
benevolence,  and  an  anxious  desire  for  perfection  in  moral 
excellence ;  and  as  the  rich  and  exalted  in  station  are  too  often 
fatally  deficient  in  this  respect,  he  declares  it  next  to  impossible 
for  them  to  enter  the  heavenly  kingdom.  As  was  the  Re- 
deemer, so  was  the  church  he  founded,  in  idea  and  character, 
directly  opposite  to  that  of  a  state,  and  especially  antagonistic 
to  every  thing  like  royalty.  A  state  does  not  regard  individuals, 
but  classes ;  and  its  regard  for  favorite  classes  is  measured,  not 
by  intrinsic  merit,  but  by  accidental  circumstances,  as  wealth, 
birth,  station,  &c.  But  a  church,  so  far  as  it  is  Christian,  acts 
on  directly  the  opposite  principle ;  disregarding  all  adventi- 
tious externals,  it  regards  men  as  individual  persons,  allowing 
no  gradation  of  ranks,  but  such  as  grace  and  practical  good- 
ness have  conferred.  For  this  reason,  therefore,  as  Coleridge 
has  well  said,  "  A  church  is,  in  idea,  the  only  pure  democracy." 
Christianity,  developed  and  exercised  as  its  Author  designed, 
is  a  power  self-subsisting,  in  its  own  proper  vitality  independ- 
ent, and  designed  to  counterbalance,  by  its  influence,  all  the 


144  REPUBLICAN   CHRISTIANITY. 

exorbitant  influences  which  tend  to  subjugate  and  oppress  the 
nations.  To  exercise  civil  power  in  her  name,  to  subordinate 
religious  institutions  as  tools  of  state,  is  as  impious  as  absurd ; 
and  it  is  among  the  chief  dishonors  of  Protestantism  to  have 
recognized  crowned  and  coroneted  sinners  as  the  supreme  head 
and  legislators  of  Christianity,  in  every  earthly  kingdom  claim- 
ing to  be  Protestant. 

Christ  never  forced  the  truth  upon  any  one.  He  could 
speak,  indeed,  with  an  eloquence  which  melted  every  heart, 
atid  affected  even  his  foes  ;  but  he  never  dazzled  that  he  might 
make  superficial  converts,  nor  did  he  ever  cunningly  confound 
his  hearers  that  he  might  more  successfully  entangle  them  in 
the  meshes  of  a  creed.  He  always  respected  reason  in  man, 
and  addressed  himself  frankly  and  magnanimously  to  man's 
free  will,  teaching  every  where  that  when  we  neglect  those 
faculties  given  us  by  nature  for  perceiving  the  truth,  we  judge 
falsely  of  true  religion,  and  involve  ourselves  in  disgraceful 
inconsistencies.  For  examples,  consult  Matt.  xii.  9 — 12  ;  Luke 
xiv.  1 — 6  ;  Matt,  xxiii.  16 — 33,  &c.  In  reading  the  whole  his- 
tory of  Christ's  life  and  instructions,  we  cannot  fail  to  be  struck 
with  astonishment  and  delight  at  the  carefulness  with  which  he 
ever  honored  the  freedom  and  capacities  of  the  human  mind, 
in  ail  cases  seeking  to  create  rational  convictions,  and  never 
employing  coercion  aside  from  the  constraints  of  love.  He 
did  not  consider  it  of  so  much  importance  for  men  to  believe, 
as  for  them  to  believe  aright,  with  reason  and  reflection  ;  and 
he  was  not  so  anxious  for  the  accession  of  numbers  to  his  king- 
dom, as  for  the  establishment  of  that  kingdom  on  the  basis  of 
exalted  freedom  and  the  most  perfect  brotherhood.  Christ 
gave  the  church  authority,  but  not  force,  —  the  authority  vested 
in  their  own  equal,  voluntary  suffrages,  and  never  allowed  to 
go  forth  in  individual  domination  over  the  mass.  No  law  in 
religion,  no  duty,  can  result  from  force,  which  differs  essen- 
tially and  eternally  from  authority.  Force  is  the  power  that 
compels,  authority  the  law  that  equitably  directs.  From  the 
right  to  command  results  the  duty  to  obey  ;  from  the  power  to 


*  THE  CHURCH  WITHOUT  A  KING.  145 

compel  follows  the  necessity  to  yield.  The  two  ideas  are 
heaven-wide.  To  confound  them  would  be  to  discard  the  sig- 
nificant sense  of  common  language,  allowing  us  to  say  of  the 
tempest  uprooting  an  oak,  that  it  exercises  a  right,  and  that  the 
oak  in  falling  fulfils  a  duty. 

In  planting  the  church  on  earth,  Christ  established  a  govern- 
ment infinitely  superior  to  all  others,  and  of  which  he  is  the 
only  head.  All  religious  allegiance  is  due  only  to  him.  All 
Christians,  by  the  very  process  of  becoming  such,  are  most 
solemnly  pledged  to  serve  the  Savior,  and  him  alone.  For 
kings  and  their  perjured  satellites  to  usurp  ecclesiastical  con- 
trol, is  to  obtrude  into  the  holy  place  an  impertinence  not  more 
splendid  than  profane.  This  fact  was  strongly  felt  by  the 
early  church.  Said  Tertullian,  "  I  consent  to  recognize  Caesar, 
provided  he  will  exact  of  me  nothing  that  conflicts  with  the 
laws  of  Him  from  whom  the  highest  authority  descends.  Be- 
sides, I  am  free ;  I  have  no  other  master  than  God  the  omnipo- 
tent, eternal,  who  is  also  the  master  of  Caesar."  But  a  sad- 
der day  of  personal  and  national  imbecility  has  come,  when 
over  the  greater  portion  of  earth,  religion  is  made  an  institution 
of  the  state,  completely  subordinate  to  the  sovereign  in  both 
doctrine  and  form.  As  might  be  expected,  infidelity  and 
hypocrisy  of  the  darkest  dye  follow  in  the  train ;  for  when  men 
refuse  to  believe  Christianity  on  the  authority  of  God,  they  will 
be  sure  not  to  believe  in  God  on  the  authority  of  the  king. 

It  does  not  appear  in  the  Bible  and  providence,  that  infinite 
wisdom  has  suspended  the  dominion  of  Christ  upon  the  fiat  of 
Caesar ;  nor  do  we  think  that  those  teachers  are  most  worthy 
of  being  heard,  who  maintain  that  this  dogma  lies  at  the  basis 
of  every  thing  purely  orthodox.  Christianity  never  once  rec- 
ognizes her  dependence  upon  law.  We  search  the  sacred 
record  in  vain  for  a  single  hint  intimating  that  it  would  ever 
rely  for  triumph  upon  aid  extraneous  to  itself.  Its  power  is  all 
within  itself,  and  its  ultimate  universal  success  is  suspended,  not 
upon  the  machinery  that  may  be  gathered  around  it,  but  upon 
the  divine  energy  which  is  evolved  by  and  from  it,  using  no 
13 


146  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY.  * 

means  that  are  not  both  peaceful  and  original  with  itself,  while 
it  anticipates  no  successes  that  are  not  grounded  upon  its  own 
transcendent  excellence.  Such  is  the  Christianity  of  Christ, 
but  quite  another  thing  is  the  religion  of  state.  That  bids 
every  man  throw  his  individual  conscience  into  one  public 
caldron,  "  that,  by  the  potency  of  some  invisible  fire,  they 
may  all  be  melted  down  into  a  state  conscience,  which  state 
conscience  is,  in  respect  of  making  provision  for  the  spiritual 
wants  of  man,  to  do  duty  for  every  member  of  the  community, 
and  become  a  universal  proxy." 

Tyrants  have  ever  oppressed  human  thought  by  hindering  its 
free  development ;  they  would  control,  as  far  as  possible,  the 
ethereal  power  which  tends  constantly  to  escape  from  the  bonds 
it  is  too  often  forced  to  endure.  Genius  and  free  thought  are 
always  on  the  side  of  popular  improvement  and  national 
progress.  Freedom  is  essential  to  produce  the  best  mental 
creations,  which  masterpieces  forever  generate  and  fortify  re- 
publicanism. The  whole  circle  of  the  arts  and  sciences  join 
in  choral  song  to  mankind,  like  Christianity  herself  proclaiming 
nature's  decree,  "  All  ye  are  brethren."  They  acknowledge 
no  despotism,  nor  unchanging  dynasty.  Their  life  is  derived 
from  unimpeded  advancement,  and  therefore  do  they  scorn 
all  lordship,  whether  solitary  or  consolidated.  Science,  like 
the  air,  is  Heaven's  gift  for  all,  and  works  more  naturally  for 
the  millions  than  for  the  few.  Literature,  like  an  immortal 
blessing,  lives  on  from  age  to  age  and  from  land  to  land, 
always  the  most  widely  beneficent  when  permitted  to  be  most 
free.  At  the  period  of  the  reformation,  the  wise  and  inde- 
pendent heroes  of  old  awoke  as  it  were  from  the  grave,  and 
came  forth  to  teach  the  world.  With  the  revival  of  intel- 
lect and  letters,  there  was  the  resurrection  of  that  spirit  of 
ennobling  power  which  is  always  the  pioneer  and  patron  of 
intellectual  and  civil  liberty.  In  England,  when  the  parasites 
of  spiritual  oppression  foresaw  the  coming  storm  which  was 
about  to  burst  upon  the  Stuarts,  they  translated  and  published 
ancient  classics,  to  avert,  if  possible,  the  outbreak  which  so 


THE    CHURCH   WITHOUT    A    KING.  147 

speedily  followed.  But  the  result  was  the  contrary  of  what  was 
expected ;  for  the  thoughts  of  free  men  acted  as  a  stimulus, 
rather  than  a  quietus,  to  the  people.  There  were  many  who, 
like  Algernon  Sidney,  were 

"  By  ancient  learning  to  th'  enlightened  love 
Of  ancient  freedom  warmed." 

Whatever  inspires  in  the  masses  of  the  people  a  disposition 
to  think  for  themselves,  and  to  act  fearlessly  according  to  the 
dictates  of  God's  word  only  and  their  own  convictions  of  right, 
is  inimical  to  the  relation  of  church  and  king,  and  for  this  rea- 
son is  most  furiously  opposed.  When  John  Huss  came  before 
the  council  at  Constance  to  give  a  reason  for  the  faith  dearer 
to  him  than  life,  he  was  hooted  down  by  kingcraft  and  priest- 
craft, so  that  not  a  word  of  his  defence  was  heard  by  the  popu- 
lar ear.  The  only  provocative  to  this  royal  uproar  was  the 
fact,  that  he  and  his  co-martyr,  Wickliffe,  proclaimed  the 
sovereignty  of  the  people  in  matters  pertaining  to  their  highest 
rights.  Said  Huss,  "  The  people  can,  if  they  wish,  correct  their 
masters  when  they  fall  into  error."  Hearing  this,  the  em- 
peror Sigismond,  springing  to  his  feet,  furiously  exclaimed, 
"  Not  content  in  having  degraded  the  priesthood,  dare  you 
wish  to  degrade  kings  ? "  For  this  offence  his  books  were 
burned  with  his  body,  and  his  ashes  were  thrown  into  the  River 
Rhine.  The  spirit  of  the  craft  is  ever  the  same.  Charles  V. 
sent  a  herald  through  the  chief  city  of  his  realm,  proclaim- 
ing with  a  trumpet,  that  no  minister  would  be  suffered  to 
preach  any  more  without  special  permission  from  the  emperor. 
"  Thus,"  as  the  elector  of  Saxony  wrote  to  Luther,  "  our  Lord 
God  is  commanded  to  be  silent  at  the  Imperial  Diet  at  Augs- 
burg." We  hear  much  of  the  horrors  of  the  French  revolu- 
tion ;  but  in  this,  as  in  other  things,  we  are  in  danger  of  ex- 
aggerating the  effect,  without  sufficiently  noting  the  guiltier 
cause.  The  priesthood  who  revoked  the  edict  of  Nantz,  and 
drove  from  their  country  the  skill,  industry,  virtue,  and  piety 
which  were  the  sinews  of  her  strength ;  the  Sycophants  who 


148  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

intoxicated  Louis  XIV.  with  the  ambition  of  universal  em- 
pire ;  the  profligate  and  shameless  Orleans ;  and  the  still 
more  brutalized  Louis  XV.,  with  his  retinue  of  ecclesi- 
astical panders  and  prostitutes,  were  the  infamous  cause  of 
national  revulsions  whose  end  is  not  yet.  Says  the  amiable 
Channing,  "  The  revolution  was,  indeed,  a  scene  of  horror ; 
but  when  I  look  back  on  the  reigns  which  preceded  it,  and 
which  made  Paris  almost  one  great  stew  and  gaming-house, 
and  where  1  see  altar  and  throne  desecrated  by  a  licentious- 
ness unsurpassed  in  any  former  age,  I  look  on  scenes  as  shock 
ing  to  the  calm  and  searching  eye  of  reason  and  virtue  as  the 
tenth  of  August  and  the  massacres  of  September.  Bloodshed 
i.s,  indeed,  a  terrible  spectacle ;  but  there  are  other  things 
almost  as  fearful  as  blood.  There  are  crimes  that  do  not  make 
v-s  start  and  turn  pale  like  the  guillotine,  but  are  deadlier  in 
•'leir  workings.  God  forbid  that  I  should  say  a  word  to 
weaken  the  thrill  of  horror  with  which  we  contemplate  the 
outrages  of  the  French  revolution !  But  when  I  hear  that 
revolution  quoted  to  frighten  us  from  reform,  to  show  us  the 
danger  of  lifting  up  the  depressed  and  ignorant  mass,  I  must 
ask  whence  it  came  ;  and  the  answer  is,  that  it  came  from  the 
intolerable  weight  of  misgovernment  and  tyranny,  from  the 
vuter  want  of  culture  among  the  mass  of  the  people,  and  from 
a  corruption  of  the  great  too  deep  to  be  purged  away  except 
by  destruction.  I  am  also  compelled  to  remember  that  the 
people,  in  this  their  singular  madness,  wrought  far  less  woe  than 
kings  and  priests  have  wrought,  as  a  familiar  thing,  in  all  ages 
of  the  world.  All  the  murders  of  the  French  revolution  did 
not  amount,  I  think,  by  one  fifth,  to  those  of  the  massacre  of 
St.  Bartholomew's.  The  priesthood  and  the  throne,  in  one 
short  night  and  day,  shed  more  blood,  —  and  that  the  best  blood 
of  France,  —  than  was  spilled  by  Jacobinism  and  all  other  forms 
of  violence  during  the  whole  revolution.  Even  the  atheism 
and  infidelity  of  France  were  due  chiefly  to  a  licentious  priest- 
hood and  a  licentious  court.  It  was  Religion,  so  called,  that 
dug  her  own  grave." 


THE   CHURCH   WITHOUT   A   KING.  149 

When  the  church  and  state  are  united  by  law,  the  result  is 
always  intolerance  and  tyranny.  It  matters  not  whether  the 
alliance  is  with  Romanism,  with  Unitarianism,  with  Calvinism, 
or  with  democratic  infidelity,  as  has  been  proved  in  the  old 
papal  dominions,  at  Geneva,  in  Canton  de  Vaud,  in  Protestant 
England,  and  Presbyterian  Scotland.  The  virus  is  every 
where  the  same,  and,  when  once  infused  into  the  body  politic, 
the  identical  plague  is  soon  certain  to  rage.  The  chief  ones  in 
authority  seem  to  suppose  that  the  poor  creature  whom  they 
judge  to  be  a  heretic  is  God's  personal  foe,  and  that  their 
hatred  of  a  fellow-man  is  shared  by  the  merciful  Father  of  all 
mankind.  The  only  alternative  before  such  Christian  kings  is 
to  drive  their  victim  into  the  church  which  they  control,  or  out 
of  the  world  into  that  hell  of  which  their  elder  brother  is  the 
sovereign ;  and  they  are  usually  surrounded  and  sustained  by 
ecclesiastical  props,  to  whom  such  service  is  a  genial  task. 

Consider  the  means  by  which  the  alliance  between  church 
and  state  is  maintained.  They  are  two  —  legislation  and  the 
hierarchy;  and,  for  examples  of  both,  we  will  turn  to  England. 
We  will  not  stop  in  the  House  of  Commons,  whom  a  recent 
writer  of  their  own  describes  as  "  an  aggregate  body  of  gen- 
tlemen called  honorable,  the  sons  of  peers  or  near  relations, 
lawyers  and  stockbrokers,  country  gentlemen  and  bankers, 
fortunate  speculators  and  [rarce,  aves]  successful  gamesters,  rich 
manufacturers,  Indian  nabobs,  soldiers,  and  seamen,  with  here 
and  there  a  philosopher.  All  the  varieties  of  creed  may  find 
their  abettors  in  this  assembly,  and  every  commandment  of 
Heaven,  saving  that  which  says, '  Thou  shalt  not  steal,'  its  vio- 
lators, without  disqualifying  them  for  the  exercise  of  legislative 
authority.  They  are  chosen  without  the  smallest  reference  to 
religion,  gathered  from  all  classes  but  the  poor,  brought  together 
from  all  quarters,  and  selected  of  every  shade  of  character, 
from  the  roue  to  the  devotee,  and,  being  associated  together  in 
one  body,  they  forthwith  undertake  to  construct  and  work  an 
apparatus  of  means,  having,  for  its  object,  to  persuade  all  the 
subjects  of  the  realm  to  revere,  love,  obev,  and  confide  in 
13* 


1-50  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

God."  We  should  give  especial  attention  to  the  peers,  the 
chief  source  of  church  government  and  patronage.  Every 
reader  of  history  knows  that  when  the  Norman  conqueror  had 
succeeded,  by  fire  and  murder,  in  robbing  the  original  occu- 
pants of  that  land  of  their  possessions,  he  gave  to  his  ruthless 
accomplices  the  estates  which  he  had  seized,  and  conferred  on 
them  most  of  the  privileges  of  nobility.  From  time  to  time 
the  number  of  these  worthies  was  enlarged  by  the  elevation  of 
other  successful  warriors.  Some  civilians  have  been  added, 
and  the  eldest  of  their  male  descendants  wear  the  title,  and 
assume  the  functions,  of  their  ancestors.  These  are  the  august 
personages  who,  by  the  accident  of  birth,  become  the  heredi- 
tary legislators  for  the  church  of  Christ,  with  power  to  dictate 
religion  to  the  people,  and  make  them  pay  for  it.  They 
may  be  good  or  bad,  wise  or  foolish,  it  matters  not.  What 
they  themselves  believe,  or  what  they  do,  is  equally  a  matter  of 
indifference  ;  the  grand  fact  is,  they  are  born  lords,  and,  con- 
jointly with  their  idol,  the  monarch,  lord  it  unquestioned  over 
all  the  consciences  and  souls  of  the  realm.  Prominent  in  that 
House  of  Peers  is  the  "  bench  of  bishops,"  mingling  with  these 
great  proficients  and  supporters  of  the  sword-power,  and  receiv- 
ing their  marked  approbation.  Together  they  exhort  the  peo- 
ple to  "  stand  by  the  altar  and  the  throne  ; "  and,  when  a 
bloody  war  is  resolved  upon,  and  executed  in  support  of  the 
unholy  prerogatives  of  the  mitre  and  crown,  one  of  their  num- 
ber writes,  and,  by  united  action,  they  command,  through- 
out the  kingdom,  to  be  read,  a  special  tribute  of  thanks- 
giving, that  they,  the  hereditary  legislators  of  the  church, 
and  their  gallant  allies,  have  succeeded  in  blowing  out  so  many 
brains.  The  most  fruitful  source  of  bloodshed  for  centuries 
has  been  the  alliance  between  church  and  king,  that  most  per- 
nicious relic  of  feudalism,  the  complete  eradication  of  which 
will,  we  fear,  occasion  yet  more  terrific  wars.  Certain  it  is 
that  nothing  can  be  more  unjust  and  absurd  than  the  legal  sup- 
port we  have  described.  "The  philosophy  of  a  people,"  says 
Bonold,  "  is  its  legislation.     When  men,  greedy  of  domination, 


THE   CHURCH    WITHOUT    A    KIIVG.  151 

impose  their  own  opinions  upon  a  people  for  laws,  and  endeavor 
to  make  their  particular  sentiments  a  general  doctrine,  foolish 
and  impious  legislations  are  the  consequence." 

Another  and  even  more  pernicious  resource  upon  which 
tyranny  mainly  relies,  is  perverted  education.  Kingly  govern- 
ments are  becoming  rapidly  modified.  Some  of  them  are 
essentially  republican  in  their  politics,  as  in  England,  where 
freedom  of  thought  and  speech  is  comparatively  unfettered. 
But  in  religious  matters  another  spirit  prevails.  Precisely 
where  there  should  be  least  restraint,  there  is  the  most  of  it. 
Touching  one's  spiritual  creed,  liberty  means  just  what  the 
royal  vocabulary  pleases  to  make  it  mean.  The  most  thorough 
mental  slavery  sways  every  rank,  from  the  palace  down  to  the 
hovel.  No  British  regality  is  allowed  the  right  of  conversion 
to  other  theological  notions  than  those  sworn  to  in  the  Thirty- 
nine  Articles,  whatever  the  individual  possessing  that  royalty 
may  think  of  them.  For  a  king  or  queen  publicly  to  avow  a 
change  of  religious  belief,  is  to  forfeit  the  exalted  station  they 
occupy.  What  vassalage  is  meaner  than  this  ?  The  peers 
seem  to  be  as  loyal  as  the  Cavaliers  who  followed  the  standard 
of  Charles  I.,  and  who  declared  they  would  fight  to  death  for 
the  crown,  though  it  were  only  stuck  upon  a  thorn-bush.  This 
reverence  for  royalty  affected  strongly  even  the  mind  of  such 
a  man  as  Lord  Bacon.  How  so  ?  They  who  grow  up  under 
the  enchantments  of  amalgamated  Cunning  and  Strength  are 
very  likely  to  become  a  fatally-fascinated  prey.  To  them  the 
crown  is  the  great  mystery  of  antiquity,  the  symbol  of  all  mor- 
tal divinity,  the  blazing  star  of  all  glory  and  conquest.  It  is 
regarded  as  the  arcanum  of  power,  virtue,  and  righteousness, 
the  ark  of  the  royal  covenant,  —  that  which  descended  from 
heaven  to  earth,  to  subsist  expressly  between  God  and  kings. 
Hence  the  grovelling  adoration,  on  the  part  of  aristocracies, 
towards  royal  prerogatives,  the  second  downward  degree  of 
mental  slavery.  Below  these  we  meet  a  long  gradation  of 
ranks  and  classes  composing  the  gentry  and  common  people. 
How  are  these  moulded  into  shape,  and  held  in  abeyance  to 


152  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

the  purposes  of  the  alliance  we  are  discussing  ?  That  is  per- 
formed expressly  and  almost  entirely  by  the  church,  which 
receives  and  distributes,  not  pelf  only,  but  power ;  that  state- 
church  which  is  not  simply  a  monopoly  in  itself,  but  the  shield 
and  patron  of  all  other  monopolies.  Let  Miall  describe  the 
process  in  his  own  vivid  and  forcible  manner. 

"  Fifteen  thousand  clergy,  trained  in  the  most  exclusive  spirit 
at  universities  where  subserviency  to  rank  is  not  only  taught, 
but  practised  j  receiving  each  his  appointment  to  a  living  from 
the  hands  of  a  land-owning  patron,  or,  what  is  much  to  the 
same  purpose,  from  those  of  a  bishop  or  the  crown ;  looking 
to  the  same  source  for  future  preferment ;  dependent,  for  inter- 
course with  aristocratic  society,  upon  the  good  will  of  the  neigh- 
boring squire ;  sympathizing  with  all  the  sectional  feelings  of 
the  order,  as  being  themselves  members  of  a  privileged  class ; 
wielding,  to  appearance,  the  dreadful  sanctions  of  religion  ; 
almoners,  usually,  of  parochial  funds  and  the  great  man's 
bounty  ;  conduits  through  which  may  flow  to  bowing  tradesmen 
the  custom  of  the  rich ;  having  access  to  every  house,  able  to 
assume  an  air  of  authority,  and,  in  virtue  of  their  office,  to 
work  upon  religious  fears  and  affections ;  fifteen  thousand 
clergy  thus  dependent  on  the  one  hand,  and  powerful  on  the 
other ;  to  the  aristocracy  pledged  servants,  to  their  own  flocks 
supreme  dictators ;  stationed  at  convenient  intervals  over  the 
length  and  breadth  of  the  land,  and  thus  coming  in  contact 
with  society  at  all  points,  —  could  mechanism  more  fatal  to 
religion,  or  more  serviceable  to  the  interests  of  the  upper  class, 
be  framed  and  put  together  ? 

"  All  the  movements  of  this  tremendous  engine  are  under 
the  complete  control  of  the  class  for  whose  advantage  it  exists. 
The  appointment  of  bishops,  to  whom  is  intrusted  the  superin- 
tendence of  this  well-organized  corps,  who  dispense  no  small 
portion  of  its  patronage,  and  whose  requests,  in  consequence, 
have  all  the  force  of  law,  is  vested  in  the  crown,  that  is,  in  the 
ministry  for  the  time  being.  That  they  are  selected  for  their 
spiritual  aotitude  for  the  office,  none  will  pretend.     Their  ele- 


THE    CHURCH    WITHOUT    A   KING.  153 

vation  is  in  most  instances  owing  to  their  connection  with,  or 
their  former  subserviency  to,  the  aristocracy.  They  thereupon 
become  members  of  "  the  order."  They  breathe  exclusive 
atmosphere.  They  are  thoroughly  imbued  with  the  aristocratic 
spirit.  Is  any  inroad  upon  sectional  privileges  threatened,  they 
have  but  to  nod  the  head,  to  give  the  well-understood  sign,  and, 
on  the  instant,  tenants,  tradesmen,  parish  officers,  paupers, 
small  gentlemen  who  occasionally  dine  at  the  squire's,  matrons 
who  tremble  for  religion,  and  young  ladies  who  are  looking  up 
to  respectable  connections,  send  forth  a  cry  of  disapprobation, 
and  send  up  a  shoal  of  petitions,  at  which  the  boldest  statesman 
may  be  excused  for  standing  appalled. 

"  The  intimate  dependency  of  the  one  class  upon  the  other 
is  sufficiently  illustrated  by  daily  facts.  If  any  instance  can 
be  pointed  out  in  which  the  clergy  and  the  aristocracy  have 
taken  different  sides,  we  would  be  content  to  give  up  the  whole 
argument.  But,  in  truth,  it  cannot  be.  The  hands  must  obey 
the  mandates  of  the  head." 

It  is  the  policy  of  every  hierarchical  establishment  to  obtain 
exclusive  control  over  every  university,  as  was  seen  until 
recently  all  over  the  continent,  and  is  still  the  fact  in  the  British 
islands.  The  church  claims  the  supreme  prerogative  to  be  the 
only  source  of  education ;  and,  as  the  moulder  of  the  popular 
character,  it  is  most  ambitious  to  prepare  its  dupes  for  the  use 
of  the  state.  If  the  king  needs  subjects  who  will  implicitly 
obey  his  mandates  ;  soldiers  who  will  not  question  the  righteous 
necessity  of  pouring  out  their-blood  to  support  the  immunities 
of  splendid  indolence,  and*  ministers  who  will  stoop  to  any  tru- 
culent subserviency  to  "  the  altar  and  the  throne,"  the  church 
stands  ready  to  furnish  an  abundant  supply.  Her  principle  of 
unlimited  obedience,  inculcated  from  earliest  infancy  on  all  the 
youth  of  the  land,  has  done  the  work  of  succumbing  prepara- 
tion, and  she  goes  with  her  vassal  hordes  to  the  state,  saying, 
"  Here  are  so  many  hundreds,  thousands,  or  millions  of  tools, 
ready  to  obey  any  command,  and  to  perform  any  task  ;  they 
will  be  perfectly  subservient  to  all  your  wants  and  wishes,  so 


154  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

long  as  you  do  not  interfere  with  us ;  hand  us  over  the  tithes 
in  payment." 

It  could  not  be  expected  that  a  community  thus  trained 
would  be  very  magnanimous  on  the  score  of  the  rights  of  con- 
science, or  very  zealous  in  the  defence  of  general  liberty. 
Take  an  illustration.  On  the  14th  of  July,  1791,  a  few  per- 
sons at  Birmingham  met  to  commemorate  the  destruction  of 
the  Bastile.  Among  these  was  that  distinguished  philosopher 
whom  Robert  Hall  eulogized  for  his  personal  worth,  and  de- 
fended when  deprived  of  his  religious  rights  —  Dr.  Priestley. 
Soon  after  the  meeting  broke  up,  a  ruffian  mob  was  raised  and 
led  on  by  "  most  respectable  men."  The  windows  of  the 
hotel  at  which  the  party  had  met  were  speedily  demolished. 
A  cry  was  raised  to  burn  Dr.  Priestley's  chapel,  and  also  his 
house.  The  residences  of  many  of  his  friends  shared  the 
same  fate.  The  sky  was  illuminated  for  miles  round  by  the 
blaze  they  kindled  that  night.  History  accredits  all  this  loyal 
work  to  clergymen  and  high  civil  functionaries ;  for  such  per- 
sons connected  with  the  magistracy  were  seen  and  heard  in  the 
outrageous  rabble  while  all  this  was  going  on.  Driven  from 
Birmingham  to  London,  no  sooner  had  Dr.  Priestley  arrived  in 
Hackney,  where  he  intended  to  reside,  than  a  very  pious 
church-and-state  placard  was  in  every  public  place  posted  up, 
couched  as  follows  :  — 

"  Dr.  Priestley  is  a  damned  rascal,  an  enemy  to  the  political 
and  religious  constitution  of  this  country,  a  fellow  of  a  treason- 
able mind,  consequently  a  bad  Christian ;  for  it  is  not  only  our 
duty,  but  the  glorious  ambition,  of  every  good  Christian  to  fear 
God  and  honor  the  king." 

We  have  presented  enough  to  show  the  horrid  nature  of  the 
relationship  that  ever  subsists  between  allied  political  and  reli- 
gious power.  Its  whole  history  is  one  loathsome  picture  of 
clerical  selfishness,  ambition,  intolerance,  and  hypocrisy.  No 
deeds  of  darkness  have  been  too  foul,  no  attacks  upon  the 
rights  of  man  have  been  too  malignant  and  infernal,  to  be  per- 
petrated by  ecclesiastics   in   the  name  of  state  Christianity. 


THE   CHURCH   "WITHOUT   A   KING.  155 

When  were  they  ever  seen  struggling  with  the  people  for  civil 
freedom  and  mental  independence  ?  Never !  Despotism  and 
tyranny  have  ever  found  in  them  the  willing  and  zealous  tools 
to  enslave  the  masses  of  mankind.  Doubtless  there  are  good 
men  among  them  who  regret  the  condition  of  things  in  which 
they  are  placed  ;  but  the  talents  and  sacred  calling  of  the  great 
majority  are  notoriously  prostituted  at  the  beck  of  infamous 
courts,  in  preaching  up  the  divine  right  of  kings,  and  in  enfor- 
cing the  duties  of  passive  obedience  and  non-resistance  to  the 
most  oppressive  wrongs.  What  they  ever  have  been  they  are 
to-day,  modified  only  in  some  slight  respects  by  the  progressive 
spirit  of  the  age. 

Having  taken  a  brief  historical  view  of  the  alliance  between 
church  and  king,  and  having  portrayed  the  nature  of  that 
relationship,  let  us,  in  the  third  place,  look  at  some  of  its 
results. 

"  My  kingdom,"  said  Christ,  "  is  not  of  this  world."  He  came, 
indeed,  to  rule  mankind,  but  not  to  rule  them  after  an  earthly 
mode,  not  by  force  and  menace,  not  by  arbitrary  dictation,  but 
by  setting  before  them  a  heavenly  example,  and  by  inculcating 
those  divine  precepts  which  educate,  ennoble,  and  save  the 
soul.  He  came  to  exert  a  moral  power,  and  not  martial  or 
legal ;  to  reign  by  the  exemplification  of  exalted  virtues ;  to 
arouse  the  energies  of  the  free  mind,  and  invest  the  spirit  and 
life  of  his  disciples  with  all  the  mild  splendors  of  true  godli- 
ness. He  came  to  publish  liberty  to  the  captives ;  to  open  the 
prison  door ;  to  deliver  from  the  thraldom  of  passion  ;  to  break 
the  yoke  of  cumbrous  rituals  in  religion  fitted  only  for  the 
childhood  of  our  race ;  to  transform  us  into  the  divine  image 
and  exalt  all  to  an  equal  participation  of  his  own  eternal  throne. 
The  Redeemer  never  authorized  the  slightest  alliance  of  his 
institutions  with  civil  power,  but  condemned  the  passion  for 
such  dominion  with  the  greatest  abhorrence,  as  being  the  most 
pernicious  foe  to  true  religion.  He  would  have  Christianity 
separated  from  state  control,  as  the  "  church  in  the  wilder- 
ness "  was  happily  isolated  from  the  Egyptian  bondage  from 


156  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

which  it  had  just  escaped.  Christ  came  to  realize  the  sublime 
idea  of  true  independence,  and  through  his  doctrines  to  impart 
it  to  all  mankind ;  to  be  himself  the  heart  of  the  church,  and 
its  only  Lord.     Says  Dr.  Harris,  — 

"  The  voice  of  prophecy  had  declared  that  such  would  be 
the  spiritual  character  of  his  new  kingdom.  For  while  some 
monstrous  type,  of  brute  ferocity  and  power,  was  deemed  an 
appropriate  symbol  of  each  preceding  monarchy  as  seen  by 
Daniel,  the  ensign  of  the  Messiah's  reign  was  distinguished  by 
the  likeness  of  the  Son  of  man  ;  aptly  denoting,  that  while 
they  prevailed  by  the  ascendency  of  physical  might,  from  his 
kingdom  should  be  banished  every  carnal  weapon  and  instru- 
ment of  coercion ;  and  that  to  him  should  belong  the  honor 
of  recognizing  and  erecting  the  prostrate  elements  of  humanity, 
of  reigning  by  the  spiritual  action  of  mind  on  mind,  the  almighty 
influence  of  enlightened  reason,  of  sanctified  gratitude  and 
love.  It  was  distinctly  predicted  that  his  kingdom,  instead  of 
symbolizing  with  any  of  the  governments  of  earth,  should  be 
to  the  world  an  image  of  his  own  sufficiency,  surpassing  and 
encompassing  them  all.  At  first,  it  would  resemble  an  impe- 
rium  in  imperio,  a  dominion  of  principle  and  affection  flourish- 
ing amidst  the  kingdoms  of  the  world,  like  the  verdure  of  para- 
dise set  in  the  desert ;  but  in  the  end,  as  Bacon  describes  the 
prevalence  of  a  far  different  principle,  '  it  bringeth  in  a  new 
primum  mobile,  that  ravisheth  all  the  spheres  of  government;' 
forming,  from  first  to  last,  in  the  eyes  of  the  world,  an  anomaly 
of  government.  Accordingly,  when  Jesus  came  to  erect  it,  he 
appeared  at  a  loss  for  suitable  illustrations  by  which  to  explain 
it  to  the  minds  of  his  hearers.  '  Whereunto,'  saith  he,  '  shall 
we  liken  the  kingdom  of  God,  and  with  what  comparison  shall 
we  compare  it  ? '  None  of  the  governments  of  the  world  sup- 
plied an  analogy :  he  who  is  the  wisdom  of  God  seemed 
embarrassed,  as  he  looked  around  the  world  of  civil  society 
for  a  similitude,  and  saw  that  it  contained  none." 

Next  to  his  own  supreme  dominion  in  every  thing  pertaining 
to  our  highest  welfare,  Christ  fostered  and  enforced  the  sov- 


THE    CHURCH   WITHOUT    A    KING.  157 

ereignty  of  the  people  ;  that  sovereignty  which  is  the  essence 
of  liberty  itself,  founded  on  equality,  political,  civil,  and  reli- 
gions, and  which  respects  the  rights  of  all  by  the  especial  pro- 
tection of  each.  This  theory,  first  realized  by  the  Son  of  God, 
is  the  most  beautiful  ever  presented,  because  it  is  the  most 
true ;  and  is  the  most  consoling,  because  it  leaves  no  grief 
unmitigated,  and  no  injury  unavenged.  But  its  retribution  is 
that  of  justice  and  mercy  only ;  hence  it  is  the  most  sublime, 
as  well  as  the  most  holy,  because  it  is  the  expression  of  univer- 
sal suffrages  here  below,  harmonious  with  the  infinite  will  on 
high.  If  there  be  aught  in  Christianity  which  elevates  it  above 
the  pestiferous  region  of  mere  fable,  any  thing  lovely  and  true, 
any  thing  divine,  of  this  fact  we  may  be  sure,  that  whatever 
principle  it  contains  is  worthy  of  being  trusted  to  the  utter- 
most, and  foremost  among  its  principles  stand  the  rights  of 
an  unfettered  conscience  granted  to  every  rational  being  on 
earth.  To  infringe  on  these,  is  to  inflict  the  greatest  injury 
man  can  possibly  endure.  In  church  relationship,  Christ  is 
God  with  us,  and  we  with  God ;  and  no  finite  being  has  any 
authority  to  interpose  himself  in  the  slightest  degree.  The 
universe  has  no  grant  of  nobility,  and  no  dignity  higher  than 
that  of  being  inscribed  in  the  Lamb's  book  of  life ;  and  this 
the  lowliest  Christian  enjoys  equally  with  the  highest.  As 
early  as  1532,  the  church  at  Berne  declared  that  the  state 
ought  not  to  interfere  with  religious  matters,  except  in  respect 
to  external  order.  "  But  as  to  the  work  of  grace,  it  is  not  in 
the  power  of  man,  and  is  dependent  on  no  magistrate.  The 
state  should  not  meddle  with  the  conscience  ;  Jesus  Christ  our 
Lord  is  our  only  Master.  If  the  magistrate  meddles  with  the 
gospel,  he  will  only  make  hypocrites."  Switzerland  has  ever 
maintained  a  noble  primitive  spirit  in  this  respect.  "  Let  the 
moderator  have  the  presidency,"  say  the  ordinances  of  Schaff- 
hausen,  "  but  nothing  more,  lest  a  monarchy  should  take  the 
place  of  democracy.'''' 

The  legitimate  results  of  the  system  we  deprecate  are  indi- 
cated by  the  present  condition  of  the  eastern  hemisphere  com- 
14 


158  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

pared  with  that  of  the  west.  Look  at  the  old  and  imbecile 
empires  where  immemorial  kingcraft  and  priestcraft  were  born. 
Their  annals  are  full  of  convulsions,  but  not  movements.  Ge- 
nius, under  their  sway,  is  too  often  struck  with  a  torpidity  which 
unfits  it  to  perfect  even  the  mediocrity  it  has  invented.  The 
popular  mind  is  palsied  by  the  sceptre  it  obeys,  and  moves 
sluggishly  in  a  circle  which  perpetually  returns  to  the  same 
starting-point.  This  result  is  produced  by  the  combination  of 
all  those  institutions  which  fetter,  embarrass,  and  retard  human 
progress ;  systems  of  state  religion,  worship  of  ancestors,  and 
division  of  the  people  into  castes.  On  the  contrary,  look  at 
the  west :  what  activity,  what  ardor,  what  a  thirst  for  improve- 
ment and  advancement,  what  an  impetuosity  of  life  !  Citizens 
here  find  a  spur  in  the  present  which  urges  them  onward  to 
something  broader  and  nobler  yet  to  come ;  they  see  that  they 
have  a  hopeful  and  glorious  future  to  conquer ;  their  lot  is  not 
immutably  fixed  ;  they  feel  that  they  are  free  incessantly  to 
modify  and  improve  it.  The  principal  cause  that  has  created 
and  perpetuated  this  distinguished  state  of  things  was  religion, 
an  influence  which  grew  more  and  more  fi*ee  and  expansive  as 
it  perpetually  advanced.  It  outgrew  Abraham  and  tradition  ; 
it  outgrew  the  heroic  and  federal  times  in  Israel  when  Moses 
and  Joshua  flourished ;  it  outgrew  the  powers  of  monarchy 
exercised  by  David  and  Solomon,  in  endeavors  to  maintain 
spiritual  unity  by  political  consolidation  ;  finally,  it  outgrew  the 
prophets,  in  their  struggle  against  idolatry,  by  giving  the  pre- 
eminence to  the  moral  element  of  worship  above  the  ceremo- 
nial, that  clearest  unfolding  of  the  spirit  of  true  religion  which 
heralded  the  Messiah,  and  gave  the  gospel  of  redemption  to 
mankind.  That  religion  is  still  advancing,  having  been  made 
perfect  and  divine  in  "  the  man  Christ  Jesus,"  and  is  destined 
to  mature  Christian  manhood  every  where.  It  scorns  to  use 
the  rod  that  hung  up  over  the  mantel-piece  to  frighten  the 
infancy  of  our  race.  Human  character,  and  the  religion  given 
to  redeem  it,  have  passed  this  stage  of  childishness,  and, 
released  from  nursery  trammels,  man  is  coming  to  pursue  the 


THE    CHURCH   WITHOUT   A   KING.  159 

great  ends  of  existence,  loving  all  and  fearing  none,  guided 
only  by  the  light  of  heaven  in  his  own  consciousness,  and 
feeling  that  there  can  be  no  sin  without  its  punishment,  no 
virtue  without  it  appropriate  reward.  Kings  and  their  gew- 
gaws in  the  church  are  regarded  as  a  nuisance  by  all  the  good, 
and  must  soon  become  every  where  obsolete.  Their  only  hope 
of  being  tolerated  at  all  in  this  age  lies  in  their  speedy  divorce- 
ment from  ecclesiastical  affairs.  The  great  masses  of  the 
people  will  submit  to  the  alliance  no  longer.  It  is  an  unmit- 
igated curse  to  all  concerned,  as  Milton  saw  the  results  it  pro- 
duced in  his  day,  and  described  in  the  following  magnificent 
passage  :  — 

"  I  cannot  better  liken  the  state  and  person  of  a  king  than 
to  that  mighty"  Nazarite,  Samson,  who,  being  disciplined  in 
the  practice  of  temperance  and  sobriety,  and  without  the  strong 
drink  of  excessive  and  injurious  desires,  grows  up  to  a  noble 
strength  and  perfection,  with  those  his  illustrious  and  sunny 
locks,  the  laws,  waving  and  curling  about  his  godlike  shoulders. 
And  while  he  keeps  them  about  him  undiminished  and  unshorn, 
he  may,  with  the  jaw-bone  of  an  ass,  that  is,  with  the  word  of 
his  meanest  officer,  suppress  and  put  to  confusion  thousands 
of  those  that  rise  up  against  his  just  power.  .But,  laying  down 
his  head  amongst  the  strumpet  flatteries  of  prelates,  whilst  he 
sleeps  and  thinks  no  harm,  they  wickedly  shaving  off  all  those 
bright  and  weighty  tresses  of  his  laws  and  just  prerogatives 
which  were  his  ornament  and  strength,  deliver  him  over  to 
indirect  and  violent  counsels,  which,  as  those  Philistines,  put 
out  the  clear  and  far-sighted  eyes  of  his  natural  discerning, 
and  make  him  grind  in  the  prison-house  of  their  sinister  ends 
and  practices  upon  him ;  till  he,  knowing  this  prelatical  razor 
to  have  bereft  him  of  his  wonted  might,  nourish  again  his 
puissant  hair,  the  golden  beams  of  law  and  right,  and  sternly 
shook  thunder  with  ruin  upon  the  heads  of  those  his  evil 
counsellors,  but  not  without  great  affliction  to  himself." 

The  cry  of  the  popular  conscience  grows  more  distinct  and 
universal  every  day  against  allowing  monarchs  any  longer  to 


160  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

subordinate  Christianity  to  their  own  degraded  designs.  The 
nations  desire  no  more  to  see  her  enslaved  in  the  ante-rooms 
of  despots,  prostituted  in  service  the  most  base.  The  grand 
cry  of  rousing  humanity  is  for  the  rescue  of  religion  from  all 
control  of  the  state.  Henceforth  aspiring  to  be  independent,  and 
not  fearing  royal  or  hierarchical  interference,  the  church  will 
say  to  her  teachers  every  where,  as  did  one  of  old,  (Amos  vii. 
12,  13,)  "  Amaziah  said  unto  Amos,  O  thou  seer,  go,  flee  thee 
away  into  the  land  of  Judah,  and  there  eat  bread,  and  prophesy 
there ;  but  prophesy  not  again  any  more  at  Beth-el,  for  it  is 
the  king's  chapel,  and  it  is  the  king's  court." 

This  growing  discontent  under  the  united  tyranny  of  church 
and  state  results  from  the  rapidly-increased  consciousness  of 
its  fearful  effects  in  every  clime.  In  Russia  and  Greece,  it 
successfully  resists  all  attempts  to  reform  the  idolatrous  wor- 
ship of  the  Greek  church.  In  Italy  and  Austria,  fortified  by 
the  state,  Romanism  maintains  itself,  tremblingly,  it  is  true,  but 
not  yet  overthrown.  For  centuries  the  cimeter  has  defended 
the  Koran  ;  while  the  bayonets  of  Germany  and  England  have 
hitherto  sustained  the  hollow  formalism  of  a  defunct  Protestant 
establishment. 

It  is  on  the  latter  domain  that  the  greatest  evils  of  church 
and  state  relationship  are  at  present  found,  and  it  is  doubtless 
there  that  the  last  and  greatest  battle  for  religious  freedom  is 
to  be  fought.  How  does  that  religion  appear  in  the  English 
church,  which  disclaims  worldly  pretensions,  warns  against 
"  the  deceitfulness  of  riches,"  and  courts  not  "  the  honor  which 
cometh  from  men"  —  that  religion  which  was  cradled  in  pov- 
erty, baptized  in  suffering,  dwelt  from  choice  among  the  labo- 
rious, and  has  forbidden  to  its  followers  all  titles  of  distinction  ? 
We  will  let  a  distinguished  living  English  author  present  an 
instance  and  illustration. 

"  Take  the  last  royal  christening,  and  look  at  it  simply  as  a 
state  imbodiment  of  Christianity.  Without  staying  to  question 
the  rite  itself,  or  the  authority  upon  which  it  is  founded,  look  at 
it  as  a  simple  act  of  divine  worship.     Why,  the  religion  of 


THE   CHURCH   WITHOUT   A   KING.  161 

the  thing  is  a  trifle,  compared  with  its  worldly  environment. 
Nothing  but  costly  splendor !  Royal  sponsors  landing  amidst 
salutes  of  artillery  and  popular  acclamations ;  cavalcades  and 
processions  ;  jewels  and  feathers ;  fetes,  banquets,  balls,  on 
the  most  magnificent  scale  ;  how  can  a  religious  thought  or  a 
religious  emotion  harmonize  with  the  bustle,  and  the  circum- 
stance, and  the  bravery  of  a  scene  like  this  ?  We  know  who 
retired  into  a  desert  to  pray.  But  religion  now-a-days  can 
plunge  into  the  very  whirl  of  fashion,  and  perform  its  most 
solemn  acts  amid  the  parade  of  all  the  accompaniments  of 
frivolous  greatness. 

"  Alas !  that  that  meek,  sober,  earnest,  spiritual  reality, 
Christian  truth,  Heaven's  best  and  noblest  gift  to  man,  should 
thus  be  tricked  out  with  meretricious  ornaments,  and  sent 
flaring  through  these  realms,  so  berouged  and  beribboned  by 
aristocratic  frivolity,  as  to  leave  upon  men's  minds  an  impres- 
sion of  nothing  whatever  beyond  earthly  pomp  !  They  see  the 
coaches  and  the  gold,  but  where  is  the  moral  loveliness  to 
which  they  are  bidden  to  do  homage  ?  They  hear  the  thun- 
dering cannon  and  the  swelling  organ,  but  do  they,  can  they, 
discern,  amidst  it  all,  the  words  of  persuasion  which  drop  as 
the  dew  ?  Is,  then,  that  coarse  thing  which  barbarians  can 
equal,  if  not  outvie,  Christianity  ?  Are  her  claims  and  her 
instructions  thus  fitly  symbolized  ?  Does  she  delight  in  gairish 
attire,  and  love  to  show  herself  first  among  the  foremost  in 
surrounding  herself  with  a  vain  show  ?  No  !  But  this  is  what 
legislators  'make  of  God's  truth.  Their  wisdom  turns  a 
strangely  solemn  reality  into  a  plaything  for  nobles ;  a  fresh 
occasion  for  the  indulgence  of  their  costly  tastes  ;  a  mere  peg 
upon  which  to  hang  aristocratic  pomp  and  pleasure.  Ay, 
they  have  turned  their  hands  to  religion,  and  a  fine  thing  they 
have  made  of  it.  Strip  this  state-church  of  its  titles,  power, 
and  wealth,  and  what  would  be  left  ?  What  is  it  but  a  bubble, 
reflecting  the  colors  by  which  it  is  surrounded  ?  Burst  it,  and 
there  remains  —  nothing." 

And  burst  it  will,  that  bubble,  very  soon.  The  people  are 
14* 


162  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

coming  to  understand,  and  estimate  at  its  proper  worth,  the 
value  of  that  government  which,  a  few  years  since,  in  minute 
detail,  prescribed  to  its  agents  in  Canada  odious  measures  of 
persecution  against  the  Catholics,  and  at  the  same  time,  by  a 
formal  treaty,  guarantied  to  the  inhabitants  of  Ceylon  the 
liberty  of  idolatrous  rites,  sanctioning,  by  the  presence  of 
ambassadors,  those  pagan  ceremonies,  and  offering  to  their 
divinities  sacrilegious  gifts.  Light  is  spreading  on  this  subject, 
and  the  great  body  of  the  nation  are  looking  with  rapidly- 
increased  disfavor  upon  this  unholy  and  insufferable  alliance, 
in  which  gold,  state  honors,  and  ecclesiastical  dignities  become 
the  spoils  of  intrigue,  the  recompense  of  indolence,  and  the  base 
pension  which  functionaries  of  every  grade  receive,  for  crip- 
pling the  capacities  and  betraying  the  rights  of  the  people  at 
large. 

But,  thank  God  !  Christianity  is  diffusing  the  leaven  of  its 
influence  widely  and  deeply  through  the  popular  heart,  ren- 
dering its  subject  both  socially  regenerative  and  politically 
energetic.  From  age  to  age  it  has  bequeathed  to  earth  a 
mighty  accumulation  of  power,  which,  in  the  era  upon  which 
we  are  entering,  seems  destined  to  burst  into  freedom,  glad- 
ness, and  salvation  in  the  presence  of  all  mankind.  Revolu- 
tions the  most  radical  and  retributive  are  growing  rife,  in  view 
of  which  let  tyrants  and  bigots  take  heed,  for  chasms  dark  and 
frightful  as  their  own  deeds  are  yawning  wide  to  give  a  quick 
passage  down  the  fiery  depths  of  the  oppressor's  hell.  Com- 
binations to  support  allied  aristocracies  around  the  altar  and 
throne,  must  bow  before  the  gathering  storm  of  reformation  in 
church  and  state,  or  be  swept  before  it  like  summer  dust. 
"Through  this  house  or  over  it,"  said  Lord  Brougham,  on  the 
occasion  of  a  noted  debate  in  the  English  senate,  "  this  reform 
bill  must  pass."  The  Lord  of  lords  and  Monarch  of  mon- 
archs  has  decreed  that  through  every  chapter  house,  every 
ministerial  cabinet,  and  every  legislative  hall,  or  over  them 
with  crushing  might,  the  great  Reform  Bill  of  primitive  Chris- 
tianity shall  pass,  leaving  every  where  in  its  course  the  mind 
without  a  fetter,  and  the  church  without  a  king. 


CHAPTER    II. 

THE    CHURCH    WITHOUT    A    POPE. 

Popery  originated  in  degeneracy,  flourished  most  in  the 
darkest  times,  and  is  destined  to  disappear  before  increasing 
light.  These  are  the  main  positions  which  in  this  discussion 
we  shall  endeavor  to  substantiate. 

In  the  first  place,  it  was  in  degeneracy  from  the  primitive 
purity  of  the  church  of  Christ,  that  Papal  domination  arose. 
Careful  research  into  this  matter  will  show  that  the  first  society 
of  Christian  believers  was  bound  together  only  by  the  bonds 
of  mutual  love,  and  a  free  devotion  to  their  common  Lord. 
After  his  ascension,  they  continued  to  cooperate  with  the 
same  singleness  of  heart  and  spontaneous  enterprise,  for  the 
worship  of  their  heavenly  Master  and  the  promotion  of  his 
kingdom  on  earth.  The  government  under  which  they  volun- 
tarily placed  themselves  was  the  purest  form  of  freedom  ever 
imbodied  and  exemplified.  "  Each  individual  church  possessed 
the  rights  and  powers  inherent  in  an  independent  popular  as- 
sembly. The  right  to  enact  their  laws,  and  the  entire  govern- 
ment of  the  church,  was  vested  in  each  individual  association 
of  which  the  church  was  composed,  and  was  exercised  by  the 
members  of  the  same,  in  connection  with  their  overseers  and 
teachers ;  and,  when  the  apostles  were  present,  in  common 
also  with  them." 

Next  to  the  inspired  historians  themselves,  perhaps  the  most 
reliable  writer  on  this  subject  is  Dr.  Augustus  Neander.  Speak- 
ing of  the  office  of  the  apostles,  he  says,  "  They  stand  as  the 
medium  of  communication  between  Christ  and  the  whole  Chris- 
tian church,  to  transmit  his  word  and  his  Spirit  through  all 
ages.     In  this  respect  the  church  must  ever  continue  to  ac- 


164  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

knowledge  her  dependence  upon  them,  and  to  own  their  right- 
ful authority.  Their  authority  and  power  can  be  delegated  to 
none  other.  But  the  service  which  the  apostles  themselves 
sought  to  confer,  was  to  transmit  to  men  the  word  and  the 
spirit  of  the  Lord,  and,  by  this  means,  to  establish  independent 
Christian  communities.  These  communities,  when  once  estab- 
lished, they  refused  to  hold  in  a  state  of  slavish  dependence 
upon  themselves.  Their  object  was,  in  the  spirit  of  the  Lord, 
to  make  the  churches  free,  and  independent  of  their  guidance. 
To  the  churches  their  language  was,  '  Ye  beloved,  ye  are 
made  free ;  be  ye  the  servants  of  no  man.'  The  churches 
were  taught  to  govern  themselves.  All  the  members  were 
made  to  cooperate  together  as  organs  of  one  Spirit,  in  connec- 
tion with  which  spiritual  gifts  were  imparted  to  each  as  he 
might  need.  Thus  they,  whose  prerogative  it  was  to  rule 
among  the  brethren,  demeaned  themselves  as  the  servants  of 
Christ  and  his  church.  They  acted  in  the  name  of  Christ  and 
his  church,  as  the  organs  of  that  Spirit  with  which  all  were 
inspired,  and  from  which  they  derived  the  consciousness  of 
their  mutual  Christian  fellowship.  The  brethren  chose  their 
own  officers  from  among  themselves.  Or  if,  in  the  first  organ- 
ization of  the  churches,  their  officers  were  appointed  by  the  apos- 
tles, it  was  with  the  approbation  of  the  members  of  the  same.1' 
Possibly  as  early  as  the  latter  part  of  the  life  of  John,  when 
he  was  sole  survivor  of  the  other  apostles,  the  custom  obtained 
of  distinguishing  by  the  name  of  episkopos  (bishop)  the  pres- 
ident of  the  sacred  assembly.  There  is,  however,  no  evidence 
that  the  apostle  himself  introduced  such  a  change  ;  much  less, 
that  he  authorized  it  as  a  perpetual  ordinance  for  the  future. 
Such  an  innovation  would  be  directly  opposed  to  the  well- 
known  spirit  of  that  apostle.  "  When,  however,"  continues 
Neander,  "  the  doctrine  is,  as  it  gradually  gained  currency  in 
the  third  century,  —  that  the  bishops  are,  by  divine  right,  the 
head  of  the  church,  and  invested  with  the  government  of  the 
same  ;  that  they  are  the  successors  of  the  apostles,  and  by  this 
succession  inherit  apostolical  authority  ;  that  they  are  the  medi- 


THE    CHURCH   WITHOUT    A   POPE.  165 

um  through  which,  in  consequence  of  that  ordination  which 
they  have  received,  merely  in  an  outward  manner,  the  Holy 
Ghost,  in  all  time  to  come,  must  be  transmitted  to  the  church, 
—  when  this  becomes  the  doctrine  of  the  church,  we  certainly 
must  perceive,  in  these  assumptions,  a  strong  corruption  of  the 
purity  of  the  Christian  system.  It  is  a  carnal  perversion  of 
the  true  idea  of  the  Christian  church.  It  is  falling  back  into 
the  spirit  of  the  Jewish  religion.  Instead  of  the  Christian  idea 
of  a  church,  based  on  inward  principles  of  communion,  and 
extending  itself  by  means  of  these,  it  presents  us  with  the 
image  of  one,  like  that  under  the  Old  Testament,  resting  in 
outward  ordinances,  and,  by  external  rites,  seeking  to  promote 
the  propagation  of  the  kingdom  of  God.  This  entire  perver- 
sion of  the  original  view  of  the  Christian  church  was  itself 
the  origin  of  the  whole  system  of  the  Roman  Catholic  reli- 
gion, —  the  germ  from  which  sprung  the  Popery  of  the  dark 
ages." 

The  control  of  the  apostolical  churches  was  administered  by 
each  body  of  believers  collectively,  until  the  third  or  fourth 
century.  It  was  about  this  period  that  the  simple  form  and 
efficient  discipline  of  the  primitive  church,  exchanged  for  a 
complicated  and  oppressive  system  of  penance,  came  to  be 
administered  by  the  clergy,  and  the  usurpations  of  the  Episco- 
pal hierarchy  began.  Then,  instead  of  being  simply  an  assem- 
bly of  brethren,  with  God  only  for  their  Word,  their  Spirit, 
and  their  Life,  the  church  became  a  mere  thing  of  creeds  and 
ceremonies  ;  its  head  was  a  man,  and  if  the  devotees  recog- 
nized the  presence  of  Jesus  Christ  at  all,  it  was  mainly  in  a  gross 
material  sense.  But  he  had  said  from  the  beginning,  with  an 
infinitely  higher  signification,  "  Lo !  I  am  with  you  always, 
even  unto  the  end  of  the  world."  This  is  the  grand  doctrine 
of  the  Real  Presence,  which  was  too  early  overlooked,  but 
which  should  never  be  forgotten  by  the  disciples  of  our  Lord. 

The  true  church  is  built  on  the  foundation  of  the  purest  as 
well  as  most  sacred  liberty,  and  is  cemented  with  unconstrained 
confidence  and  mutual  love,  the  strongest  of  all  bonds.     It  is  a 


166 


REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 


voluntary  assemblage  of  equals,  wherein  every  one  obeys  and 
no  one  commands.  Every  rational  being  is  created  in  a  nat- 
ural independence  of  every  other  being ;  and  if  the  most  ex- 
alted finite  intelligence  should  come,  of  his  own  accord,  and 
with  no  other  credential  but  his  own  will,  to  dictate  laws  to 
man,  and  to  subjugate  him  to  his  dominion,  himself  would  be 
a  tyrant,  and  his  subjects  would  be  slaves.  What  shall  we  say, 
then,  when  frail  man  arrogates  sovereignty  over  man,  his  equal 
in  rights,  and  often  his  superior  in  reason,  in  cultivation  and 
virtue  ?  Can  there  be  any  pretension  more  iniquitous  or  more 
insolent?  Does  the  universe  present  a  more  ignominious 
servitude  ?  Surely,  we  may  not  hesitate  to  affirm  with  Rous- 
seau, "A  long  perversion  of  just  sentiments  and  ideas  is 
necessary,  before  one  can  resolve  to  take  a  fellow-man  for  his 
master."  If  this  is  true  with  respect  to  natural  society,  what 
shall  we  say  concerning  Christian  organizations  ?  The  duty 
of  obedience  implies  the  right  of  commanding  ;  and  he  who 
has  a  rightful  authority  to  dictate  in  religious  matters  must  be 
above  him  who  submits  to  his  decrees  —  so  much  above  him  that 
higher  than  this  no  superiority  can  be  conceived.  An  angel, 
by  his  nature,  is  above  human  beings ;  and  yet  man  is  not 
bound  to  yield  obedience  to  an  angel  in  any  thing.  If  Gabriel 
should  assume  palpable  shape  and  appear  in  our  midst  as  a 
religious  ruler,  where  should  we  find  either  reason  or  revela- 
tion directing  us  to  follow  his  behests?  There  would  be  no 
right  on  the  one  hand,  or  duty  on  the  other. 

Plutarch  tells  us,  in  his  life  of  Numa,  that  in  the  age  of 
Saturn,  there  will  be  neither  masters^nor  slaves.  In  the  highest 
sense,  this  can  be  applied  only  to  the  peaceful  domain  and  per- 
fect sway  of  Christianity.  Her  law  is  not  the  expression  of 
a  single  dictator,  nor  the  avenger  of  a  few  wills  the  most  prom- 
inent and  strong ;  its  object  is  rather  to  protect  private  inter- 
ests, and  to  establish  righteousness,  the  supreme  interest  of  all. 
"  Jesus  called  the  disciples  unto  him,  and  said,  Ye  know  that 
the  princes  of  the  Gentiles  exercise  dominion  over  them,  and 
they  that  are  great  exercise  authority  upon  them.     But  it  shall 


THE    CHURCH   WITHOUT   A   POPE.  167 

not  be  so  among  you  :  but  whosoever  will  be  great  among  you, 
let  him  be  your  minister ;  even  as  the  Son  of  man  came  not 
to  be  ministered  unto,  but  to  minister,  and  to  give  his  life  a 
ransom  for  many."  This  plainly  declares  that  God  only  has 
the  right  to  impose  on  rational  creatures  religious  laws,  and 
that  these  are  imbodied  and  exemplified  before  each  independ- 
ent believer  in  Jesus  Christ.  Equity  the  most  severe,  blended 
with  benignity  the  most  divine,  duty  and  the  reason  of  duty, 
the  precept  sanctioned  by  the  highest  example,  all  are  found  in 
Christ  alone.  He  is  our  great  Exemplar,  Lawgiver,  and  Judge, 
and  no  other  are  we  bound  to  obey.  "  Away,  then,  with  the 
interference  of  your  Popes  and  your  Right  Reverend  Fathers 
in  God  ;  and  let  the  minister  of  Christ,  to  all  intents  and  pur- 
poses whatsoever,  be  the  bishop  of  his  flock.  And  away  with 
the  nauseous  and  insufferable  arrogance  that  claims  a  whole 
state  for  a  parish,  and  tells  the  ministry  of  every  denomination 
but  its  own,  —  men  who,  '  by  pureness,  by  knowledge,  by  the 
word  of  truth,  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  by  love  unfeigned  ; '  and, 
not  a  few  of  them,  in  '  fastings,  in  necessities,  in  distresses,  in 
stripes,  or  imprisonments,'  are  approving  themselves  the  min- 
isters of  God,  —  that  tells  such  men,  '  Your  credentials  are 
spurious,  and  your  work  unauthorized;'  and,  turning  to  a 
whole  commonwealth,  says  to  its  hundreds  of  thousands,  '  Ye 
are  the  people  of  my  pasture,  and  the  sheep  of  my  hand.' " 

We  have  shown  that  Popery  originated  in  degeneracy ;  and 
we  remark,  secondly,  that  it  flourished  most  in  times  of  the 
least  spiritual  light  and  power.  We  can  best  prove  this  point 
by  noting  yet  more  fully  the  process  of  degeneracy  through 
which  Christianity  in  her  dark  days  passed. 

At  the  time  Christ  appeared  on  earth,  the  Jews  had  changed 
the  worship  of  the  only  true  God  into  slavish  ceremonies  as 
much  opposed  to  genuine  religion,  and  as  injurious  to  morality, 
as  idolatry  itself.  They  proudly  conceived  themselves  to  be 
the  chosen  people  of  God,  and  preferred  by  him  above  all 
others.  They  not  only  conceived  the  very  essence  of  religion 
to  consist  of  corporeal  exercises  and  sacred  ceremonies,  but 


168 


REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 


despised  all  other  nations,  and  fancied  themselves  holy,  if,  not- 
withstanding the  grossest  vices,  they  fasted  diligently,  offered 
sacrifice,  and  zealously  observed  the  foolish  superstitions  of 
their  fathers.  Under  such  circumstances,  it  is  easy  to  perceive 
that  the  spirit  of  true  religion  had  vanished  from  the  world 
Jesus  came  to  redeem,  that  the  pernicious  influence  of  super- 
stition controlled  every  thing,  and  that  a  mighty  body  of  priests, 
whose  existence  and  authority  depended  upon  this  influence, 
were  incessantly  engaged  in  preserving  and  fortifying  it.  To 
provide  a  remedy  for  these  evils,  and  to  destroy  every  sort  of 
superstition,  by  establishing  a  simple,  rational  worship  of  the 
true  God,  was  an  object  of  Christ's  mission.  By  the  diffusion 
of  pure  and  universal  truth,  he  would  extirpate  all  heathenish 
rites  and  exclusive  creeds,  making  the  divine  word,  which  had 
hitherto  been  the  exclusive  property  of  the  Jews,  to  become 
the  faith  of  the  whole  human  family,  the  foundation  of  a  nobler 
and  more  comprehensive  popular  belief.  When  our  Lord  ap- 
peared, religion,  in  all  nations,  had  constituted  an  essential  part 
of  the  civil  regulations.  All  the  kingdoms  of  the  old  world 
were  theocratical  and  hierarchical ;  which  state  religions, 
endowed  with  special  prerogatives  and  armed  with  high  civil 
power,  were,  as  they  ever  are,  insufferably  intolerant.  But  the 
religion  which  Jesus  came  to  spread  was  directly  opposed  to 
this  in  nature  and  design,  and  therefore  he  kept  it  carefully 
distinct  from  political  affairs.  He  gave  the  Christian  church 
such  regulations  as  are  compatible  with  any  form  of  national 
government,  but  which  are  to  be  allied  to  none.  By  both 
example  and  precept,  he  inculcated  this  primary  principle  in 
the  most  clear  and  emphatic  manner.  Constraint  and  power, 
under  no  form  whatever,  were  to  be  employed  in  matters  of 
religion.  The  only  bond  laid  upon  his  disciples  by  Christ  was, 
allegiance  to  himself;  the  only  enginery  of  conquest  commit- 
ted to  their  hands  was  the  enginery  of  truth  and  love. 

For  several  centuries  after  the  establishment  of  Christianity 
in  the  world,  there  were  two  distinct  societies  mutually  inde- 
pendent, the  one  civil,  the  other  religious.     This  was  based  on 


THE    CHURCH    WITHOUT    A    POPE.  169 

duty,  that  on  interest ;  the  first  reigned  by  justice,  the  second 
oppressed  by  force.  Christ  separated  the  two  as  far  asunder 
as  possible  ;  but  the  pope  caused  them  to  coalesce,  and  made 
despotism  to  be  the  fundamental  law  of  both  church  and  state. 
The  power  with  which  our  Lord  endowed  his  people,  far  from 
enslaving,  elevates  and  makes  more  free  those  upon  whom  it  is 
exercised,  and,  in  this  respect,  differs  infinitely  from  the  sway 
for  the  attainment  of  which  vulgar  ambition  strives.  But  he 
knew,  too,  that  there  is  another  kind  of  sovereignty,  which  does 
not  quicken  and  exalt,  but  crushes  and  degrades  ;  a  power 
which  robs  men  of  all  the  best  qualities  of  their  nature,  and 
compels  them  to  bend  in  base  subserviency  to  the  will  of  a 
fellow-man.  This  is  the  potency  which  men,  even  the  best, 
most  eagerly  grasp  ;  and,  when  wielded  in  ecclesiastical  domi- 
nation, is  earth's  most  fearful  curse.  Guizot  says  very  truly 
that  "  all  religion  is  a  restraint,  an  authority,  a  government.  It 
comes  in  the  name  of  a  divine  law,  to  subdue,  to  mortify  human 
nature.  It  is  then  to  human  liberty  that  it  directly  opposes 
itself.  It  is  human  liberty  that  resists  it,  and  that  it  wishes  to 
overcome.  This  is  the  grand  object  of  religion,  its  mission, 
its  hope. 

"  But  while  it  is  with  human  liberty  that  all  religions  have  to 
contend,  while  they  aspire  to  reform  the  will  of  man,  they  have 
no  means  by  which  they  can  act  upon  him  ;  they  have  no  moral 
power  over  him,  but  through  his  own  will,  his  liberty.  When 
they  make  use  of  exterior  means,  —  when  they  resort  to  force, 
to  seduction,  —  in  short,  make  use  of  means  opposed  to  the 
free  consent  of  man,  they  treat  him  as  we  treat  water,  wind, 
or  any  power  entirely  physical ;  they  fail  in  their  object ;  they 
attain  not  their  end  ;  they  do  not  reach,  they  cannot  govern  the 
will.  Before  religions  can  really  accomplish  their  task,  it  is 
necessary  that  they  should  be  accepted  by  the  free  will  of  man  ; 
it  is  necessary  that  man  should  submit,  but  it  must  be  willingly 
and  freely,  and  that  he  still  preserves  his  liberty  in  the  midst  of 
this  submission.  It  is  in  this  that  resides  the  double  problem 
which  religions  are  called  upon  to  resolve. 
15 


170  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

"  They  have  too  often  mistaken  their  object.  They  have 
regarded  liberty  as  an  obstacle,  and  not  as  a  means  ;  they  have 
forgotten  the  nature  of  the  power  to  which  they  address  them- 
selves, and  have  conducted  themselves  toward  the  human  soul 
as  they  would  toward  a  material  force.  It  is  this  error  that  has 
led  them  to  range  themselves  on  the  side  of  power,  on  the  side 
of  despotism,  against  human  liberty;  regarding  it  as  an  adver- 
sary, they  have  endeavored  to  subjugate  rather  than  to  protect 
it.  Had  religions  but  fairly  considered  their  means  of  opera- 
tion,—  had  they  not  suffered  themselves  to  be  drawn  away  by 
a  natural  but  deceitful  bias,  —  they  would  have  seen  that  liberty 
is  a  condition  without  which  man  cannot  be  morally  governed  ; 
that  religion  neither  has  nor  ought  to  have  any  means  of  influ- 
ence not  strictly  moral ;  they  would  have  respected  the  will  of 
man  in  their  attempt  to  govern  it.  They  have  too  often  forgot- 
ten this,  and  the  issue  has  been,  that  religious  power  and  liberty 
have  suffered  together." 

All  persons  historically  informed,  and  accustomed  to  ex- 
tended observation,  know  that  civil  and  religious  freedom  are 
inseparable  companions  as  well  as  mutual  supports,  and  that 
in  no  country  can  one  exist  for  any  great  length  of  time  with- 
out producing  the  other.  It  has  been  the  misfortune  of  the 
greater  portion  of  Christendom  that  state  tyrants  have  assisted 
a  degenerate  church  in  fettering  the  popular  mind,  while  she, 
in  turn,  has  powerfully  aided  them  in  enslaving  the  body.  This 
combination  of  political  and  ecclesiastical  despotism  constituted 
and  perpetuated  the  Popery  of  the  dark  ages.  Then  w7as  de- 
clared the  infallibility  of  the  pope  and  his  bench  of  cardinals, 
thus  excluding  all  dissent.  The  Bible  was  suppressed,  knowl- 
edge in  a  great  measure  extinguished,  and  the  human  mind 
shut  up  to  be  amused  with  the  most  unsubstantial  bawbles.  The 
first  act  of  the  popes,  having  arrogated  to  themselves  complete 
sovereignty  in  the  church  of  Christ,  was  that  which  had  been 
the  practice  of  impious  bigotry  in  all  ages  —  to  monopolize  the 
true  knowledge  among  themselves.  As  the  priests  of  Egypt 
and  Greece  enclosed  it  in  mysteries,  they  wrapped  the  simple 


THE    CHURCH   WITHOUT    A   POPE.  171 

truths  of  the  gospel  in  mysteries  too ;  as  the  Brahmins  forbade 
any  except  their  own  order  to  read  the  sacred  Vedas,  they  shut 
up  that  holy  revelation  given  to  enlighten  the  world,  the  very 
book  that  declared  of  its  own  contents,  that  they  were  so  clear 
that  "  he  who  ran  might  read  them  ;  "  that  they  taught  the  way 
of  life  so  perspicuously,  that  "  the  wayfaring  man,  though  a 
fool,  could  not  err  therein." 

Christ  imparted  no  secret  doctrines,  and  would  perpetuate  his 
reign  on  earth  through  the  agency  of  no  occult  institutions. 
The  apostles,  far  from  being  allowed  to  consider  the  private 
instructions  of  their  divine  Master  as  addressed  to  them  alone, 
received  from  him  this  especial  command,  which  was  at  the 
same  time  a  great  encouragement :  "  What  I  tell  you  in  dark- 
ness, that  speak  ye  in  the  light :  and  what  ye  hear  in  the  ear, 
that  preach  ye  upon  the  house-tops.'"  But  there  is  an  opposite 
system,  flattering  to  pride,  and  convenient  for  despotism  ;  a 
system  to  which  the  East  is  indebted  for  its  castes,  and  ancient 
Europe  Tor  its  superstitions  ;  which  possesses  the  enormous  evil 
of  systematizing  and  legitimating  ignorance.  "  As  man  pos- 
sesses nothing  more  precious  than  his  thoughts,  his  conscience, 
and  his  religious  powers,  it  follows  that  intellectual  and  religious 
privileges  are  the  worst  of  all  privileges ;  they  fetter  progress 
in  both  senses ;  among  the  people,  by  devoting  them  to  hered- 
itary darkness,  and  among  the  initiated,  by  persuading  them 
that  the  degree  of  knowledge  conferred  by  the  nature  of  their 
institutions  is  sufficient."  This  mode  of  teaching,  in  which  the 
whole  truth  is  brought  to  the  privileged  alone,  while  what  is 
communicated  to  the  multitude  is  truth  veiled  and  mutilated, 
was  early  adopted  by  the  Papacy,  and  became  one  of  the  most 
fruitful  sources  of  their  power. 

The  progress  of  Papal  aggression  and  assumption  reached 
its  culminating  point  in  Hildebrand,  better  known  in  history  as 
Gregory  VII.,  who  made  the  church  wholly  dependent  on  him, 
and  entirely  subservient  to  the  papal  views.  The  example  of 
the  pontiffs  was  not  lost  on  the  bishops,  abbots,  and  inferior 
clergy.     Says  a  credible  historian,  "  These,  even  in  the  time 


172  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

of  Charlemagne,  had  actually  obtained  for  their  tenants  and 
their  possessions  an  immunity  from  the  jurisdiction  of  the  counts 
and  other  magistrates,  as  also  from  taxes  and  imposts  of  all 
kinds.  But  in  this  century  they  carried  their  pretensions  still 
further,  aimed  at  the  civil  government  of  the  cities  and  territo- 
ries in  which  they  exercised  a  spiritual  dominion,  and  even 
aspired  to  the  honors  and  authority  of  dukes,  marquises,  and 
counts  of  the  empire.  The  nobles  were  forever  resisting,  in 
their  respective  domains,  the  assumptions  of  the  clergy  in  mat- 
ters of  jurisdiction  and  other  affairs.  These,  therefore,  seized 
the  opportunity  which  was  offered  them  by  the  superstition  of 
the  times,  to  obtain  from  the  kings  these,  the  ancient  rights  of 
the  nobles;  and,  as  the  influence  of  the  bishops  over  the  peo- 
ple was  greater  than  that  of  the  nobility,  the  kings,  to  secure 
the  services  of  so  powerful  a  priesthood,  generally  granted 
their  requests.  Thus  they  became  bishops  and  abbots  clothed 
with  titles  and  dignities  so  foreign  to  their  spiritual  office, — 
reverend  dukes,  marquises,  counts,  and  viscounts  ! 

"  It  was  not,  however,  by  these  means  only  that  they  sought 
dominion  over  the  world.  They  had  a  thousand  arts  to  rivet 
their  power  into  the  souls  of  the  people.  Councils  were  one 
of  them.  As  if  the  sacerdotal  name  and  inculcations  were  not 
influential  enough,  they  sought,  by  collecting  together  all  the 
dignities  of  the  church  into  one  place,  to  invest  them  with  a 
more  awful  character,  and  to  render  the  enactments  of  these 
priestly  congresses  everlasting  and  indissoluble  laws.  These 
enactments  were  such  as  the  worship  of  images,  decreed  in 
the  council  of  Nice,  787  ;  the  holding  of  a  festival  to  the 
Virgin  Mother,  instituted  by  the  council  of  Mentz  in  the  ninth 
century ;  taking  the  cup  of  the  sacrament  from  the  laity ;  and 
a  declaration  of  the  lawfulness  of  breaking  the  most  solemn 
engagements  made  to  heretics,  by  the  council  of  Constance,  in 
the  fifteenth  century,  with  a  thousand  other  despotic  measures 
equally  inimical  to  all  freedom  of  opinion,  and  destructive  to 
the  rights  of  mankind." 

A  fearful  policy  prevailed  at  that  gloomy  period,  when  "  the 


THE    CHURCH   WITHOUT    A   POPE.  173 

man  of  sin  "  had  throned  himself  in  the  temple  of  God,  and 
exalted  himself  "above  all  that  is  called  God,  and  that  is  wor- 
shipped.1' Shadows  were  substituted  for  substance,  theological 
life  was  smothered  under  sacerdotal  gorgeousness,  and  the 
people  at  large  were  taught  to  be  content  with  such  instruction 
as  they  could  derive  only  through  the  medium  of  priests.  Men 
sat  in  judgment  on  God's  record  of  salvation,  the  charter  of  our 
immortality,  and,  sifting  its  precious  contents  to  suit  their  own 
selfish  ends,  decided  what  was  proper  to  be  communicated  and 
what  to  be  withheld.  The  medicine  of  life  was  dealt  out  with  a 
sparing  and  cautious  hand,  and  mixed  with  foreign  ingredients, 
"  like  arsenic  or  hemlock,  which  are  only  safe  when  adminis- 
tered in  a  diluted  form,  and  in  small  quantities*"  In  allusion 
to  this  condition  of  things,  President  Du  Paty  is  represented  by 
Landor  as  saying  to  Peter  Leopold,  "  Wherever  there  is  a  sub- 
stitute for  morality ;  where  ceremonies  stand  in  the  place  of 
duties  ;  where  the  confession  of  a  fault  before  a  priest  is  more 
meritorious  than  never  to  have  committed  it ;  where  virtues  and 
duties  are  vicarious  ;  where  crimes  can  be  expiated  after  death 
for  money ;  where,  by  breaking  a  wafer,  you  open  the  gates 
of  heaven,  —  probity  and  honor,  if  they  exist  at  all,  exist  in  the 
temperament  of  the  individual.  Hence  a  general  indifference 
to  virtue  in  others ;  hence  the  best  men  in  Italy  do  not  avoid 
the  worst ;  hence  the  diverging  rays  of  opinion  can  be  brought 
to  no  focus  ;  nothing  can  be  consumed  by  it,  nothing  warmed." 
With  equal  truth  Middleton  said  to  Magliabechi,  "  You  tell  us 
that  you  do  not  worship  images,  but  worship  in  them  what  they 
express.  Be  it  so.  The  pagans  did  the  same,  neither  better 
nor  worse.  What  will  you  answer  to  the  accusation  of  wor- 
shipping a  living  man  ?  Adoration  is  offered  undisguisedly  and 
openly  to  priests  and  monks,  however  profligate  and  infamous 
their  lives  may  have  been  and  be.  Every  pope  is  adored  by 
the  holy  college  on  his  elevation." 

A  writer  in  the  Foreign  Quarterly  Review  of  July,  1840, 
reviewing  a  work  by  the  famous  French  preacher  Lacordaire, 
notices  the  fact  that  Popery  has  every  where  been  the  same, 
15* 


174  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

and  that  its  modem  aspect  is  by  no  means  sufficiently  improved. 
Says  he,  "  Great  pains  have  been  taken  of  late,  not  only  on  the 
continent,  but  especially  in  this  country,  to  propagate  the  belief 
that  Romanism  is  synonymous  with  every  kind  of  liberality,  as 
well  as  the  security  and  order  of  the  state  ;  than  which  asser- 
tion, triumphantly  refuted  by  history,  there  can  be  none  ad- 
vanced more  entirely  groundless.  In  the  language  of  Popery, 
the  state  means  the  church,  and  vice  versa;  excluding  the  co- 
existence of  any  other  power  not  subordinate  to  it.  The  ortho- 
dox Papist  must  look  upon  every  heretical  government  as 
illegal,  and  as  that  which  they  are  bound  in  conscience  to 
overthrow.  The  absolute  submission,  indeed,  which  the  pope 
requires  from  his  followers,  is  incompatible  with  their  duties  as 
subjects  of  an  independent  state  ;  and,  to  take  one  instance  out 
of  a  thousand,  we  may  refer  to  the  words  of  a  pope's  legate 
addressed  to  Casimir  IIL,  king  of  Poland.  When  the  latter 
refused  to  give  the  see  of  Cracow  to  a  Papal  nominee,  saying 
that  he  would  rather  lose  a  kingdom  than  comply  with  such  a 
request,  the  legate  replied,  that  it  would  be  better  that  three 
kingdoms  should  perish,  than,  that  a  word  of  the  pope  should 
be  set  at  nought.  This  sublime  of  despotism  is  linked  with 
moral  degradation  of  the  worst  description  ;  one  of  the  popes, 
Alexander  VI. ,  having  boastingly  said,  that  the  more  foolish  a 
religion  was,  the  more  fitted  was  it  for  the  people.  To  keep 
the  latter  in  the  most  abject  slavery  is  the  main  object  of 
Popery,  and  this  principle  was  well  expressed  by  a  talented 
supporter*  of  the  system,  when  he  represented  the  state  in  the 
form  of  a  triangle,  the  top  of  which  was  occupied  by  the 
clergy,  and  the  body  by  the  king  and  nobles.  The  remainder 
of  the  nation  was  left  out  of  his  construction.  No  wonder, 
then,  that  in  whatever  country  Popery  succeeded  in  establishing 
its  power,  it  left  behind  its  pestilential  effects,  not  to  be  oblit- 
erated for  centuries.  Look  at  the  Roman  States,  the  finest 
district  in  the  world,  converted  by  the  Romish  priesthood  into 

_ 

*  Oricliovkis. 


THE    CHURCH    WITHOUT    A    POPE.  175 

a  morass  ;  look  at  Spain,  Portugal,  and  Poland,  during  the 
sway  of  the  Jesuits,  still  suffering  from  its  baneful  influence. 
Hence  it  has  been  invariably  the  case  that,  whenever  a  nation 
endeavored  to  rise  from  a  state  of  degradation,  it  has  always 
shaken  off  the  Papal  yoke.  And  what  does  Popery  say  of 
such  spiritual  regeneration  ?  Does  it  not  always  stigmatize  it 
as  the  tyranny  of  human  reason  ?  Lest  we  should  be  accused 
of  misrepresenting  facts,  we  extract  a  passage  from  the  letter 
of  Abbe  Lacordaire.  The  abbe,  well  known  by  his  controv- 
ersy with  Lamennais,  is  now  one  of  the  most  distinguished 
preachers  in  France,  and  a  zealous  defender  of  Papacy. 

u  War,1'  says  he,  "  has  been  in  Europe  for  fifty  years.  .  .  . 
But  where  is  that  war  ?  It  is  higher  than  opinions,  higher  than 
kings,  higher  than  nations ;  it  is  between  human  reason  and 
faith  —  betweeen  Roman  Catholic  and  rational  power.  The 
Papal  see,  therefore,  does  not  join  any  party,  does  not  interfere 
with  any  form  of  government,  but  keeps  up  a  friendly  inter- 
course with  every  country  in  which,  as,  for  instance,  in 
Belgium  and  in  France,  the  tyranny  of  reason  has  been  put 
down ;  it  protests  against  the  violence  offered  to  church  and  con- 
science wherever,  as  in  Spain  and  Portugal,  that  tyranny  raises 
its  head.''''  It  will  be  easy  to  see  that  the  tyranny  of  reason, 
here  so  much  complained  of,  means  nothing  more  than  a  purer 
sense  of  religion,  liberty  of  conscience,  and,  above  all,  inde- 
pendence of  the  Papacy. 

The  Roman  Catholic  church  is  a  strange  combination  of 
things  the  most  absurd  and  the  most  sublime.  For  instance, 
how  absurd  that  so  many  millions  of  rational  beings,  some  of 
them  enlightened  in  the  highest  degree,  should  submit  them- 
selves in  spiritual  matters  to  the  dictation  of  a  poor  frail  man, 
the  pope  at  Rome  !  How  absurd  the  interminable  and  unin- 
telligible ceremonies  of  the  church !  How  absurd  is  the  doc- 
trine of  celibacy  and  transubstantiation !  How  absurd  the 
sanctity  which  devotees  attach  to  the  bones  and  other  relics 
of  the  canonized  !     How  absurd  that  thousands  and  tens  of 


176  REPUBLICAN   CHRISTIANITY. 

thousands  of  men  and  women  should  immure  themselves  in 
melancholy  seclusion  from  the  world,  under  the  notion  that 
they  are  best  serving  God  by  abstaining  from  all  intercourse 
with  the  creatures  he  has  made. 

But  there  are  many  associations  connected  with  the  Papacy 
by  no  means  contemptible ;  on  the  contrary,  glorious  and  sub- 
lime. The  Catholics  were  a  church  long  before  England  was 
a  state,  and  fought  the  battle  of  civilization  a  dozen  centuries 
before  America  was  known.  They  coped  with  those  northern 
tribes  who  subdued  them  ;  and  even  while  yielding  to  physical 
force,  they  taught  them  manners  and  arts,  and  led  them  to- 
wards the  refinements  of  social  intercourse.  It  was  a  church 
clothing  itself  with  all  the  authority  of  ancient  days ;  "  the 
word  of  God  in  its  hands,  both  tradition  and  Scripture  ;  believ- 
ing it  had  God's  infallible  and  exclusive  inspiration  at  its  heart, — 
for  such  no  doubt  was  the  real  belief,  —  and  actually,  through  its 
Christian  character,  combining  in  itself  the  best  interests  of 
mankind,  no  wonder  it  prevailed.  Its  countenance  became  as 
lightning.  It  stood  and  measured  the  earth.  It  drove  asunder 
the  nations.  It  went  forth  in  the  mingling  tides  of  civilized 
corruption  and  barbarian  ferocity,  for  the  salvation  of  the 
people  —  conquering  and  to  conquer ;  its  brightness  as  the 
light."  But  this  was  in  her  earlier  and  better  days,  when  she 
owed  no  such  allegiance  and  subordination  as  the  church  of 
England  does  to  political  authorities,  but  both  claimed  and 
exercised  supremacy.  We  should  not  forget  that  the  Catholic 
church  has  taken  eighteen  centuries  to  grow ;  that  it  was  the 
heir,  not  only  of  Mosaic  institutions,  but  of  all  classical  an- 
tiquity ;  that  many  of  the  ages  it  traversed  were  ages  of  bar- 
barism, when  the  will  of  the  strongest  was  law  ;  that  while  it 
has  served  as  a  spiritual  guide  to  each  generation,  each  genera- 
tion has  stamped  upon  it  its  own  impress  ;  that  while  it  was 
encompassed  by  imperfection,  and  all  the  social  as  well  as 
political  institutions  of  its  domain  were  rude  in  the  extreme, 
it  could  not  be  expected  suddenly  to  attain  perfection  in  con- 
trast with  the  universal  degradation  it  had  to  oppose  ;  and  that, 


THE    CHURCH   WITHOUT   A   POPE.  177 

notwithstanding  the  mighty  evils  against  which  it  had  perpetu- 
ally to  struggle,  it  has  served  powerfully  to  civilize  all  Europe, 
and,  through  Europe,  the  world.  The  Papacy  has  ever  been 
a  tremendous  power  for  good  as  well  as  for  evil.  It  put  its 
foot  upon  the  necks <  of  kings,  distributed  crowns,  consecrated 
banners  for  the  conquest  of  the  British  Islands,  and  arbitrarily 
disposed  of  empires  in  the  old  world  and  new.  It  is  a 
church  that  has  boasted  of  always  having  the  power  to  work 
miracles,  and  has  claimed  to  extend  its  influence  even  into  the 
unseen  regions  and  eternal  cycles  of  the  spiritual  world.  It  is 
a  church  which,  in  its  palmy  days,  could  scorn  nobility  and 
blood,  while  they  were  the  objects  of  superlative  popular  ven- 
eration ;  which  took  the  butcher's  boy  and  raised  him  to  the 
highest  ecclesiastical  eminence ;  gave  him  prerogatives  that 
enabled  him  to  look  down  on  princes,  with  all  their  pomp 
and  pride,  and  make  them  the  mere  puppets  of  his  political 
schemes,  —  a  church  which  survived  the  "  reformation"  with 
power  enough  yet  in  her  hands  to  shame  and  baffle  the  most 
successful  aspirants  to  universal  empire ;  and  which,  even  in 
modern  times,  has  shown  itself  the  church  of  the  enslaved  as 
well  as  the  triumphant,  the  poor  as  well  as  the  rich,  degraded 
multitudes  as  well  as  dignified  classes,  and  has  been  true  to 
the  forlorn,  when  most  destitute  and  despairing.  Let  us  rec- 
ognize and  generously  appreciate  what  Catholicity  has  done  for 
the  religious  culture  of  the  world,  when  no  other  source  for 
such  culture  existed,  as  well  as  what  it  has  done  for  every 
other  species  of  human  improvement.  It  has  preserved  for  us, 
and  not  for  us  only,  but  for  all  coming  time,  the  immense  and 
invaluable  treasures  of  Greek  and  Roman  literature.  It  kept 
alive  a  taste  for  art,  even  in  those  barbarous  times,  when  on 
every  hand  the  feeling  of  the  beautiful  seemed  ready  to  be 
destroyed.  To  it  we  owe  the  most  exquisite  music,  and  those 
venerable  cathedrals,  which  reveal  to  both  sense  and  soul  the 
loftiest  poetry  and  sublimest  genius  of  the  past.  It  is  not 
wonderful  that  the  Catholic  church  has  such  a  hold  upon  the 
affections  of  those  who  have  grown  up  under  its  influence.     It 


178  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

is  not  only  their  church,  but  the  church  of  their  fathers,  and  is 
made  beautiful  and  engrossing  to  their  hearts  by  a  multitude 
of  the  most  thrilling  associations.  It  is  the  church  which  in 
infancy  they  were  taught  to  love,  and  which  threw  the  whole 
magic  of  its  myriad  hues  on  their  childhood's  brow  and  youth- 
ful path.  In  many  a  dark  hour  its  priests,  its  consecrated 
utensils,  and  symbolic  rites,  have  imparted  to  them  consolation^ 
when  from  no  other  source  it  could  be  derived.  Therefore, 
right  or  wrong,  for  weal  or  woe,  does  the  Catholic  profoundly 
love  his  church.  Nor  should  we  indiscriminately  condemn  the 
faith  and  practice  from  which  we  so  widely  differ.  Catholicism 
has  doubtless  added  many  things  to  the  word  of  God,  but  she 
also  preserved  most  of  the  fundamental  doctrines  of  Christi- 
anity, the  depravity  of  man,  salvation  through  the  atonement, 
the  essential  divinity  of  the  Redeemer,  and  the  indispensable 
work  of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  the  heart.  Protestants  are  in  no 
great  danger  of  dishonoring  themselves  or  their  faith,  by  being 
mindful  of  the  respect  which  is  due  that  ancient  class  of 
Christians,  in  whose  ranks  have  shone  the  names  of  Laurence 
de  Bilva,  Sadolet,  Borromeo,  Vincent  de  Paul,  Pascal,  and 
Fenelon. 

These  remarks,  we  think,  are  not  in  much  danger  of  being 
perverted.  No  right-minded  person  will  accuse  us  of  undue 
partialities  for  the  Catholic  church,  because,  when  compelled, 
by  the  nature  of  our  discussion,  to  refer  to  its  history,  we 
magnanimously  recognize  the  merits  it  is  well  known  to  the 
intelligent  to  possess.  We  frankly  affirm,  in  the  language  of 
Channing,  "  Of  all  Protestants,  we  have  fewest  sympathies  with 
the  Romish  church.  We  go  farther  than  our  brethren  in  re- 
jecting her  mysteries,  those  monuments  of  human  weakness ; 
and  as  to  her  claims  to  infallibility,  we  repel  them  with  an 
indignation  not  to  be  understood  by  sects,  which,  calling  them- 
selves Protestant,  renounce  in  words,  but  assert  in  practice,  a 
Popish  immunity  from  error,  a  Popish  control  over  the  faith  of 
their  brethren.  To  us,  the  spiritual  tyranny  of  Popery  is  as 
detestable  as  Oriental  despotism.     When  we  look  back  on  the 


THE    CHURCH   WITHOUT   A   POPE.  179 

history  of  Papal  Rome,  we  see  her,  in  the  days  of  her  power, 
stained  with  the  blood  of  martyrs,  gorged  with  rapine,  drunk 
with  luxury  and  crime.  But  what  then  ?  Is  it  righteous  to 
involve  a  whole  church  in  guilt,  which,  after  all,  belongs  to  a 
powerful  few  ?  Is  it  righteous  to  forget  that  Protestantism,  too, 
has  blood  on  her  robes  ?  Is  it  righteous  to  forget  that  Time, 
the  greatest  of  reformers,  has  exerted  his  silent,  purifying 
power  on  the  Catholic  as  well  as  on  ourselves  ?  Shall  we  re- 
fuse to  see,  and  to  own  with  joy,  that  Christianity,  even  under 
Papal  corruptions,  puts  forth  a  divine  power  ?  that  men  cannot 
wholly  spoil  it  of  its  celestial  efficacy  ?  that,  even  under  its 
most  disastrous  eclipse,  it  still  sheds  beams  to  guide  the  soul 
to  heaven  ?  that  there  exists  in  human  nature,  when  loyal  to 
conscience,  a  power  to  neutralize  error,  and  to  select  and  in- 
corporate with  itself  what  is  pure  and  ennobling  in  the  most 
incongruous  system  ?  Shall  we  shut  our  eyes  on  the  fact,  that 
among  the  clergy  of  the  Romish  church  have  risen  up  illus- 
trious imitators  of  that  magnanimous  apostle,  before  whom 
Felix  trembled,  —  men  who,  in  the  presence  of  nobles  and 
kings,  have  bowed  to  God  alone,  have  challenged  for  his  law 
uncompromising  homage,  and  rebuked,  in  virtue's  own  un- 
daunted tone,  triumphant  guilt?" 

Two  general  points  have  now  been  considered  —  first,  that 
Popery  originated  in  degeneracy ;  secondly,  that  it  flourished 
most  in  the  darkest  times.  It  remains  to  suggest,  thirdly,  that 
it  is  destined  to  disappear  before  increasing  light. 

Under  this  general  topic,  we  will  consider  three  particulars  — 
first,  in  the  primitive  days  of  Christianity,  all  the  churches 
stood  on  a  perfect  equality ;  secondly,  of  these  churches  Christ 
was  recognized  as  the  only  head  ;  thirdly,  all  revolutions  and 
reformations  in  modern  policies  tend  perpetually  toward  the 
original  condition  of  religious  affairs. 

In  the  first  place,  no  fact  in  history  is  clearer  than  that,  as- 
ordered  by  Christ  and  executed  by  the  apostles,  all  the  churches 
stood  on  a  perfect  equality  with  each  other.  The  New  Testa- 
ment uses  the  word    churches,  as  applied  to  local  bodies  of 


180  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

Christians  living  in  the  same  region,  and  sometimes  in  near 
neighborhood  ;  as,  "  the  churches  throughout  all  Judea  ; "  Paul 
"went  through  Syria  and  Cilicia,  confirming  the  churches ;" 
"  so  were  the  churches  established  in  the  faith,  and  increased 
in  number  daily."  We  read  of  the  churches  of  Galatia,  the 
churches  in  Asia,  Macedonia,  &c,  &c.  Paul  says  to  the 
Corinthian  church,  "  I  robbed  other  churches,  taking  wages  of 
them  to  do  you  service."  The  force  of  the  appeal  rests 
wholly  on  the  churches  in  question  being  regarded  as  separate, 
distinct  bodies ;  otherwise  he  should  have  said,  "  I  robbed  other 
branches  or  dioceses,  or  parishes,  of  the  church,  to  supply 
this  branch." 

The  more  magnanimous  and  reliable  class  of  Episcopal  and 
Papal  writers  recognize  and  acknowledge  the  scriptural  truth 
on  this  great  subject.  Archbishop  Whately,  in  his  essays  on 
"  The  Kingdom  of  Christ,"  says,  "  The  church  is  undoubtedly 
one,  and  so  is  the  human  race  one;  but  not  as  a  society.  It 
was  from  the  first  composed  of  distinct  societies,  which  were 
called  one,  because  formed  on  common  principles.  It  is  one 
society  only  when  considered  as  to  its  future  existence.  The 
circumstances  of  its  having  one  common  head,  (Christ,)  one 
Spirit,  one  Father,  are  points  of  unity  which  no  more  make  the 
church  one  society  on  earth,  than  the  circumstance  of  all  men 
having  the  same  Creator,  and  being  derived  from  the  same 
Adam,  renders  the  human  race  one  family."  And  again, 
"  The  church  is  one,  then,  not  as  consisting  of  one  society,  but 
because  the  various  societies,  or  churches,  were  then  modelled, 
and  ought  still  to  be  so,  on  the  same  principles ;  and  because 
they  enjoy  common  privileges,  —  one  Lord,  one  faith,  one 
baptism.  Accordingly,  the  Holy  Ghost,  through  his  agents 
and  apostles,  has  not  left  any  detailed  account  of  the  formation 
of  any  Christian  society ;  but  he  has  very  distinctly  marked 
the  great  principles  on  which  all  were  to  be  founded,  whatever 
distinctions  may  exist  amongst  them.  In  short,  the  foundation 
of  the  church  by  the  apostles  was  not  analogous  to  the  work 
of  Romulus,  or  Solon  ;  it  was  not,  properly,  the  foundation  of 


THE  CHURCH  WITHOUT  A  POPE.  181 

Christian  societies  which  occupied  them,  but  the  establishment 
of  the  principles  on  which  Christians  in  all  ages  might  form 
societies  for  themselves.1'  Gieseler  says,  vol.  i.  §  29,  "  The 
new  churches  every  where  formed  themselves  on  the  model  of 
the  mother  church  at  Jerusalem.  At  the  head  of  each  were 
the  elders,  all  officially  of  equal  rank,"  &c. 

Says  Mosheim,  vol.  i.  pp.  80 — 86,  Murdock's  1st  edition, 
"  All  the  churches  in  those  primitive  times  were  inde- 
pendent bodies,  or  none  of  them  subject  to  the  jurisdiction 
of  any  other.  For,  though  the  churches  which  were  founded 
by  the  apostles  themselves,  frequently  had  the  honor  shown 
them  to  be  consulted  in  difficult  and  doubtful  cases,  yet  they 
had  no  judicial  authority,  no  control,  no  power  of  giving  laws. 
On  the  contrary,  it  is  clear  as  the  noonday,  that  all  Christian 
churches  had  equal  rights,  and  were  in  all  respects  on  a  foot- 
ing of  equality. 

In  giving  an  account  of  the  government  of  the  church  dur- 
ing the  second  century,  the  same  distinguished  historian  re- 
marks, "  The  form  of  church  government  which  began  to 
exist  in  the  preceding  century,  was,  in  this,  more  industriously 
established  and  confirmed  in  all  parts.  One  president,  or 
bishop,  presided  over  each  church.  He  was  created  by  the 
common  suffrage  of  the  whole  people. 

"  During  the  greater  part  of  this  century,  all  the  churches 
continued  to  be,  as  at  first,  independent  of  each  other ;  or, 
Avere  connected  by  no  consociations  or  confederations."  —  Vol. 
i.  p.  142. 

The  Magdeburg  Centuriators,  in  their  famous  work,  pub- 
lished in  1559 — 1574,  in  describing  the  constitution  and  disci- 
pline of  the  churches  of  the  first  and  second  centuries,  furnish 
the  following  testimony  with  respect  to  the  republican  spirit  of 
primitive  Christianity  :  "  A  visible  church  was  an  assembly, 
or  congregation  of  persons,  who  believed  and  followed  the 
writings  of  the  prophets  and  apostles ;  which  should  be  com- 
posed of  persons  regenerated  by  the  word  and  sacraments, 
though  there  might  be  in  this  assembly  many  persons,  who, 
16 


182  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

though  they  agreed  with  the  regenerate  in  doctrine,  were,  nev- 
ertheless, not  sanctified  in  heart.  Clemens  [of  Alexandria] 
says,  I  call  not  a  place,  but  a  congregation  of  the  elect,  a 
church."  — Century  ii.  ch.  4,  p.  39,  ed.  Basil.  1624. 

Of  excommunication  they  say,  "  The  right  of  excommuni- 
cation was  committed  to  the  hands  of  the  church  and  its  min- 
isters." —  Cent,  i.  lib.  2,  ch.  3,  p.  274. 

"  The  power  of  announcing  the  remission  of  the  sins  of  pen- 
itent offenders  was  also  in  the  hands  of  the  church ;  though, 
for  the  sake  of  order,  except  in  cases  of  necessity,  it  was  ex- 
ercised by  the  ministers  of  the  church."  — lb.  p.  276. 

"  The  whole  assembly,  or  church,  in  any  particular  place  — 
including  laymen  and  clergy  —  had  power  to  elect,  call,  and 
ordain  suitable  ministers,  and  to  depose  and  avoid  false  teach- 
ers, or  those  whose  evil  lives  threatened  injury  to  the  church. 
These  things  appear  from  the  testimony  of  the  Scriptures  con- 
cerning the  power  of  the  keys ;  for  the  keys  were  given  to  the 
whole  church.  But  the  church,  if  she  calls  her  ministers  to 
act,  does  nothing  else  than  commit  to  them  the  keys.  That 
power,  therefore,  pertains  to  the  whole  of  the  church.  More- 
over, the  examples  in  the  New  Testament  teach  the  same 
thing  ;  for,  in  the  first  of  Acts,  it  appears  that  not  by  the  apos- 
tles alone,  but  by  the  whole  church,  Matthias  was  put  in  the 
place  of  Judas ;  and  in  Acts,  sixth  chapter,  the  deacons  were 
chosen,  called,  and  ordained,  not  by  the  apostles  alone,  but  also 
by  the  rest  of  the  church.  In  Acts,  thirteenth  chapter,  the 
whole  church  of  Antioch  gathered  together  by  command  of 
God,  and  sent  forth  Paul  and  Barnabas  to  teach  the  gospel  to 
the  Gentiles."  — lb.  p.  299. 

The  following  summary  view  of  the  constitution,  govern- 
ment, and  rights  of  the  churches  of  the  second  century  is  given 
by  these  learned  ecclesiastical  historians. 

"  If  any  one  examines  the  approved  writers  of  this  century, 
[the  second,]  he  will  see  that  the  form  of  church  government 
was  very  like  a  democracy,  (drjuoxgailac.)  For  each  church 
had  equal  power  of  preaching  the  pure  word  of  God,  of  ad- 


THE  CHURCH  WITHOUT  A  POPE.  183 

ministering  the  sacraments,  of  absolving  and  excommunicating 
heretics  and  wicked  persons,  of  observing  the  ceremonies 
received  from  the  apostles,  or,  even,  for  the  sake  of  edification, 
of  instituting  new  ones;  of  choosing  ministers,  of  calling,  of 
ordaining,  and,  for  just  causes,  of  deposing  them  again  ;  of  as- 
sembling councils  and  synods  ;  of  instituting  and  supporting 
schools;  and,  in  matters  of  doubt  or  controversy,  of  demand- 
ing the  opinion  of  others;  of  judging  and  deciding."  —  Cent, 
ii.  ch.  7,  pp.  102—103. 

These  and  numerous  other  testimonies  which  might  be  ad- 
duced, go  to  sustain  the  following  positions,  viz.  :  "  1.  The 
apostolic  churches  were  single  congregations  of  Christians, 
with  their  appropriate  officers.  2.  The  government  of  these 
churches  was  essentially  democratical.  Each  church  elected 
its  own  officers,  determined  by  what  particular  regulations  it 
would  be  governed,  exercised  discipline  upon  its  members ;  in 
a  word,  did  every  thing  that  those  possessing  the  supreme 
power  were  authorized  to  do. 

"  3.  Their  officers  at  first  consisted  simply  of  presbyters 
(who  were  also  called  bishops,  or  overseers,  and  elders)  and 
of  deacons ;  and  when,  for  prudential  reasons,  a  president  was 
chosen  from  among  the  elders  of  a  single  church,  and  the  title 
of  bishop,  or  overseer,  was  given  to  him,  to  distinguish  him 
from  his  coequal  elders,  his  authority  was  confined  to  a  single 
church,  or  religious  society,  and  was  essentially  unlike  a  mod- 
ern diocesan  bishop.  4.  That  all  the  churches  in  those  prim- 
itive times,  though  bound  together  by  a  common  faith  and 
order,  were  equal  and  independent  bodies,  subject  to  no  earthly 
power  nor  authoritative  control  beyond  themselves." 

We  proceed  to  remark,  secondly,  that  of  these  equal 
churches,  Christ  was  recognized  as  the  only  head.  The  su- 
preme power  of  Christ  in  and  over  his  churches  has  been  well 
indicated  by  Mr.  Crowell,  in  his  admirable  work,  called  the 
"Church  Members'  Manual,"  p.  61.  Like  every  judicious  wri- 
ter on  this  solemn  topic,  he  expresses  his  positions  in  the  lan- 
guage of  Scripture  itself.     As,  1.  The  sole  power  of  making 


184  REPUBLICAN   CHRISTIANITY. 

laws  for  all  churches  is  in  him,  and  is  not  transmitted  to  any- 
other.  James  iv.  12.  The  only  power  given  to  churches  is 
to  publish  and  execute  his  laws.  Matt,  xxviii.  20.  Being  per- 
fect and  able  to  make  the  man  of  God  perfect  to  every  good 
work,  (2  Tim.  hi.  17,)  they  need  no  addition.  2.  That  He  only 
can  erect  and  establish  the  true  church  constitution.  Heb.  iii. 
3 — 6.  No  man  has  a  right  to  set  up  a  church  except  ac- 
cording to  that  frame  or  pattern.  3.  All  offices,  ordinary  and 
extraordinary,  are  established  by  him,  and  the  authority  belong- 
ing to  them,  (Eph.  iv.  11.  1  Cor.  xii.  5 — 18,)  as  well  as  all 
gifts  of  wisdom  and  grace  to  discharge  the  duties  of  every 
station  in  the  church,  (Col.  ii.  3 — 9,)  together  with  all  spiritual 
efficiency  to  make  these  gifts  and  offices  effectual  for  the  per- 
fecting of  saints  and  the  conversion  of  sinners.  Matt,  xxviii. 
20.     Col.  i.  29. 

Speaking  of  the  nature  of  church  power,  the  same  writer 
adds,  pp.  61,  62,  81,  "  A  church  is  to  learn,  and  then  to  exe- 
cute, the  will  of  Christ.  Its  power  is  therefore  exclusively 
spiritual  and  executive.  It  has  no  right  to  the  use  of  political 
power,  nor  to  form  any  coalition  with  the  state ;  and  if  it  does 
so,  it  ceases  to  be  a  true  church  of  Christ.  Nor  has  a  church 
the  right  to  use  force,  either  directly  or  indirectly,  to  accom- 
plish its  purposes.  It  may  persuade,  exhort,  entreat,  admonish, 
and  rebuke,  to  produce  obedience,  but  has  no  right  to  resort 
to  corporal  or  pecuniary  pains  and  penalties. 

"  This  spiritual  power  must  be  used  in  an  executive  sense 
only.  Christ  has  made  all  the  laws  by  which  it  is  to  be  gov- 
erned. He  has  delegated  no  legislative  power  to  any  church. 
The  right  of  each  to  execute  his  laws  among  its  members, 
implies  the  right  to  study  those  laws  for  itself,  and  to  adopt  that 
construction  which  the  united  wisdom  of  its  members  believe 
to  be  true. 

"  To  the  same  point  are  the  directions  of  our  Savior  in  Matt, 
xviii.  15 — 20,  in  regard  to  the  course  to  be  pursued  in  cases 
of  private  quarrels  between  brethren.  The  final  resort  is,  4  if 
he  neglect  to  hear  the  church,  let  him  be  to  thee  as  a  heathen 


THE   CHURCH    WITHOUT    A    POPE.  185 

man  and  a  publican.'  As  the  offence  which  subjects  to  excom- 
munication is  l  neglecting  to  hear  [that  is,  to  obey]  the  church,' 
the  whole  body,  of  course,  and  not  its  officers,  must  pass  the 
sentence.  He  connects  the  solemn  assurance, '  Whatsoever  ye 
[the  church]  shall  bind  on  earth  shall  be  bound  in  heaven.' 
The  righteous  decisions  of  every  church  shall  be  ratified  in 
heaven.  And  then,  as  if  to  forestall  the  inquiry,  What  is  a 
church  ?  he  immediately  adds,  that  it  is  a  company  of  believers, 
however  small,  united  in  covenant  to  obey  him.  '  For  where 
two  or  three  are  gathered  together  in  my  name,  there  am  I  in 
the  midst  of  them.' 

"  As  it  is  certain  that  each  church  is  invested  by  the  Savior 
with  the  highest  ecclesiastical,  disciplinary,  and  judicial  power, 
it  follows,  necessarily,  that  each  is  an  independent  body,  com- 
plete in  itself  for  all  the  purposes  of  a  church  on  earth.  Al- 
though this  point  has  already  been  proved,  yet  this  furnishes 
an  independent,  and  alone  a  sufficient,  proof  of  the  same. 
There  can  be  no  higher  act  of  sovereignty  performed  by  a 
nation,  than  that  of  expulsion  from  citizenship." 

The  beginning  of  ecclesiastical  degeneracy,  and  its  fright- 
ful consequences,  are  compendiously  stated  by  Gieseler,  sect. 
49,  vol.  i,  wherein  he  shows  most  clearly  that  the  independ- 
ence of  the  early  churches  was  lost  by  laxity  in  discipline,  till 
heresies  had  crept  in,  and  then  by  "  the  churches  which  held 
to  the  ancient  faith  making  common  cause  "  against  the  her- 
etics. "Thus  was  developed  the  idea  of  a  catholic  (universal) 
church,  as  opposed  to  and  excluding  all  heretics  ;  and  this  idea, 
in  its  turn,  as  well  as  a  common  interest,  led  to  a  more  intimate 
union."  "  The  result  was,  first,  prelacy,  with  its  worldliness 
and  pride ;  and  finally,  papacy,  with  its  legion  of  abominations. 
Let  churches,  then,  beware  of  two  things:  First,  of  neglect- 
ing discipline  by  suffering  persons  who  have  adopted  danger- 
ous heresies  to  retain  membership  ;  and  Second,  of  combining 
their  power  for  any  disciplinary  purpose,  however  urgent  or 
desirable." 

We  have  shown  the  condition  of  equality  among  the  primitive 
16* 


186  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

churches,  and  the  fact  that  Christ  was  universally  recognized 
as  the  only  lawgiver  and  head  :  it  remains,  finally,  to  indicate 
how  that  all  modern  revolutions  tend  to  bring  the  church  back 
to  its  original  condition  of  republican  simplicity  and  power. 
Doubtless  complete  victory  will  be  but  gradually  attained,  and 
in  a  manner  best  adapted  to  exercise  religious  patience  and 
faith  ;  but  the  ultimate  triumph  will  be  both  certain  and  glori- 
ous. God  deals  with  the  modern  church  as  he  did  with  the 
ancient  in  view  of  the  Canaanites,  which  foes  might  have  been 
quickly  destroyed,  had  not  infinite  wisdom  seen  fit  to  discomfit 
them  in  a  more  moderate  way.  Said  God,  "  I  will  not  drive 
them  out  from  before  thee  in  one  year,  lest  the  land  become 
desolate,  and  the  beasts  of  the  field  multiply  against  thee.  By 
little  and  little  will  I  drive  them  out  from  before  thee,  until  thou 
be  increased,  and  inherit  the  land."  Exod.  xxiii.  29,  30. 
In  all  the  movements  of  divine  Providence,  as  Lamartine  has 
well  remarked,  "  there  is  evidently  a  double  motion  of  decom- 
position and  organization  at  the  same  time.  The  creative  spirit 
is  at  work  in  proportion  that  the  destructive  spirit  destroys. 
One  faith  supersedes  another;  one  form  is  substituted  for 
another  form.  Wherever  the  past  crumbles  to  pieces,  the 
future  is  all  prepared  to  appear  behind  the  ruins.  The  tran- 
sition is  slow  and  rude,  as  every  transition  is,  in  which  the  pas- 
sions or  the  interests  of  men  have  to  fight  in  their  progress,  or 
in  which  the  social  classes  or  the  different  countries  march 
with  an  unequal  pace  ;  in  which  some  will  obstinately  go  back, 
whilst  the  general  mass  advances.  Their  confusion,  dust, 
ruins,  darkness  prevail  for  the  moment ;  but  from  time  to  time 
also,  the  wind  disperses  that  cloud  of  dust,  which  conceals  both 
the  track  and  the  end,  and  those  who  stand  on  the  eminence 
distinguish  the  march  of  events,  recognize  the  promise  of  fu- 
turity, and  perceive  the  earliest  dawning  of  a  day  which  is  to 
enlighten  a  vast  horizon.'" 

All  great  revolutions  tend,  sooner  or  later,  completely  to  dis- 
mthrall  the  church  of  Christ.  Such  are  the  designs  of  Prov- 
idence, and  such  will  be  the  final  result.     Whatever  may  be 


THE  CHURCH  WITHOUT  A  POPE.  187 

the  personal  views  of  those  who  excite  and  execute  national 
commotions,  their  chief  producing  cause  is  more  latent  and 
profound  than  the  influences  which  the  superficial  observe.  It 
is  no  other  than  the  need,  universally  and  invincibly  felt,  of  a 
fairer  and  higher  social  order,  founded  upon  that  exalted  and 
immense  development  of  liberty  which  Christianity  has  ren- 
dered necessary  by  unfolding  itself  to  the  soul  of  the  masses 
in  the  true  conception  and  feeling  of  justice.  Hence  are  the 
collisions  which  occur  between  the  multitudes  and  their  op- 
pressors conservative  of  the  most  salutary  principles,  con- 
formed to  that  law  of  progress  which  rules  humanity,  and 
which  to  it  is  a  perpetual  pledge  of  a  grand  epoch  of  complete 
renovation,  the  signal  of  future  victories  by  which,  subordinat- 
ing national  policies  to  its  light  and  force,  will  consummate  its 
glory  by  establishing  the  human  race  in  the  unity  of  righteous- 
ness and  peace.  To  the  love  of  liberty  which  the  spirit  of 
Christ  excites  and  nourishes  in  the  popular  bosom,  more  than 
any  other  cause,  are  joined  a  principle  of  order  which  controls 
it,  and  a  charity  unbounded  in  its  exercise,  which  unite  and 
consolidate  those  healthful  elements  that  distempered  ultraism 
tends  to  isolate  and  disperse.  By  her  disinthralling  and  enno- 
bling power,  Christianity  delivers  man  from  the  yoke  of  man  ; 
by  the  principle  of  order  it  contains,  and  the  mutual  esteem  it 
creates,  it  perpetually  conducts  mankind,  free  in  Jesus  Christ, 
to  social  harmony  and  national  improvement,  in  anticipation  of 
the  promised  day  which  approaches,  when  it  will  establish  all 
ranks  and  conditions  in  one  perfect  whole.  "  And  there  shall 
be  one  fold  and  one  Shepherd." 

The  world  does  not  need^nor  does  it  desire,  the  false  and 
destructive  freedom  of  anarchy  which  traces  itself  in  blood, 
and  which,  in  the  end,  plants  a  cimeter  over  the  horrible  ruins 
it  has  formed  ;  but  that  real  and  enduring  liberty,  founded  upon 
righteousness,  and  inseparable  from  it,  pure  as  heaven,  whence 
its  last  development  will  descend,  and  holy  as  God,  who  has 
graven  an  ineffaceable  desire  for  its  enjoyment  in  the  breast  of 
every  human  being.     To  the  unlimited  possession  of  this,  a 


188  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

consummation  so  devoutly  to  be  wished,  all  the  grand  upheav- 
ings  and  down-dashings  of  our  day  conduct.  We  have  reason 
to  believe  that  the  period  is  not  remote  when  all  our  race  will 
come  to  enjoy,  without  let  or  hinderance,  the  inestimable  bless- 
ings, civil  and  religious,  which  the  Creator  designed  for  all. 
Then,  and  not  till  then,  Christianity,  disengaged  from  the  clouds 
which  have  so  long  obscured  her,  will  appear,  in  primitive 
splendor,  above  the  horizon  of  society,  as  a  star,  to  enlighten, 
vivify,  and  guide  the  people,  and  toward  which  they  will  direct 
their  enraptured  gaze,  accompanying  its  magnificent  course 
with  harmonious  chantings  of  joy  incessantly  renewed. 

Two  systems  have  for  centuries  contended  for  the  empire 
of  the  world  —  the  system  of  freedom  and  the  system  of  abso- 
lutism; doctrines  which  establish  society  on  the  basis  of  justice, 
or  those  which  subjugate  it  to  brutal  force.  The  future  des- 
tinies of  the  human  race  depend  on  the  issue  of  the  final  bat- 
tles soon  to  be  fought.  If  the  victory  remains  to  absolute 
force,  then,  stooping  to  the  earth  like  burdened  beasts,  mourn- 
ful, mute,  and  panting,  must  men,  lacerated  by  the  scourge  of 
ruthless  masters,  continue  to  plod,  moistening  with  sweat  and 
tears  the  rough  furrows  they  upturn,  with  no  other  hope  but  to 
bury  at  length  under  the  obscurest  turf  the  bloody  burden  of 
their  miseries.  But,  on  the  contrary,  should  justice  triumph, — 
as  we  are  certain  it  will,  —  then  will  humanity  advance  in  the 
predestined  path  of  progressive  glory,  with  elevated  head, 
serene  brow,  and  eye  fixed  upon  that  auspicious  future,  a 
radiant  sanctuary  wherein  Providence  has  deposited  the  highest 
benefits  for  all  who  bravely  persevere.  The  conflict  becomes 
keener  and  more  general  every  day.  On  the  one  side  are 
the  great  multitudes  of  the  people,  exhausted  of  suffering  and 
patience,  yet  struggling  in  desire  and  hope.  These  masses  of 
outraged  humanity  are  profoundly  moved  by  the  rousing  up  of 
the  too  long  dormant  consciousness  of  all  within  them  that 
constitutes  the  dignity  and  grandeur  of  man.  They  are  ren- 
dered potent  by  their  faith  in  prevailing  justice,  their  love  of 
liberty,  and  that  firmness  of  will  which  makes  them  invincible. 


THE    CHURCH   WITHOUT   A    POTE.  189 

On  the  other  hand,  all  absolute  powers  are  leagued  against 
popular  rights,  with  their  armies  and  agents  of  every  kind,  a 
mighty  organization  of  tyrannous  iniquity,  whose  strangling 
elements  are  interchained  in  one  isolated  and  compressed 
whole,  beyond  which  there  is  no  movement  but  between  two 
bayonets,  no  speech  but  between  the  malicious  ears  of  two 
spies.  Lamennais,  himself  a  Catholic,  and  the  victim  of 
hierarchical  oppression,  has  recorded  many  noble  sentiments 
on  this  point,  of  which  the  following  specimen  is  a  literal  trans- 
lation :  "  Spiritual  liberty  has  for  expression  the  liberty  of 
religion  or  of  worship,  the  liberty  of  teaching,  of  the  press, 
and  of  association.  Where  one  of  these  is  not  complete,  and 
above  all,  the  last,  the  others  are  but  a  vain  name.  Do  not  ask 
under  what  form  of  society  the  people  live  thus  deprived  of 
their  natural  rights  ;  ask  under  what  tyranny." —  (Euvres  Com- 
pletes, tome  vii.  p.  286. 

We  believe  that  the  Papacy  has  usurped  individual  rights, 
and  for  this  the  appropriate  retribution  is  at  hand.  For  centu- 
ries it  has  been  imposing  restraints  on  human  nature,  where 
development  should  be  the  grand  aim.  The  soul  is  not  to  be 
cramped,  but  cultivated.  True  religion  is  a  liberating  power, 
tending  constantly  to  provide  a  wider  and  purer  sphere  for  the 
exercise  of  both  intellect  and  heart.  It  puts  a  people  in  a 
condition  to  be  saved,  by  diffusing  among  them  the  word  of 
life  and  the  power  of  love.  Before  it  the  mountains  sink, 
rough  places  become  plain,  and  the  great  salvation  is  revealed 
to  all  without  partiality  or  disguise.  Christianity  teaches  that 
our  highest  happiness,  as  well  as  foremost  duty,  lies  in  obey- 
ing God  rather  than  man,  even  the  best  of  men  ;  since  a 
church  made  and  ruled  by  human  hands  Mils  the  substance  of 
religious  belief,  whereas  the  spirit  that  moulds  the  church  of 
Christ  vivifies  the  form.  In  the  Papal  system,  the  most  prom- 
inent things  are  men  —  priests,  bishops,  popes  ;  but  in  Chris- 
tianity, Christ  is  all  and  in  all.  Unlike  the  Mosiac  system,  it 
was  not  an  ecclesiastical,  sacerdotal,  and  hierarchical  com- 
pound to  confuse  and  oppress  ;  but,  as  all  the  declarations  of 


190  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

the  New  Testament  prove,  the  religion  given  to  the  world  by 
our  Lord  is  "  life  and  spirit  "  only.  "  The  kingdom  of  God," 
saith  Jesus,  "  cometh  not  with  observation  :  neither  shall  they 
say,  Lo,  here  !  or,  Lo,  there  !  for  behold,  the  kingdom  of 
God  is  within  you."  "The  kingdom  of  God  is  not  meat 
and  drink  but  righteousness,  and  peace,  and  joy  in  the  Holy 
Ghost." 

There  is  an  infinite  disparity  between  inward  graces  and 
outward  institutions.  Christ  came  to  elevate  mankind  equally 
above  Judaism  and  Paganism,  —  to  make  them  superior  to 
every  form  of  religion  dependent  on  symbols,  and  administered 
through  artistic  representations.  Speculative  philosophy  and 
priestly  craft  are  often  inclined  to  divert  the  popular  eye  from 
the  original  source  of  purest  light,  in  order  that  earthly  lamps, 
ministering  to  selfish  purposes  only,  may  be  ostentatiously 
employed  ;  but  the  highest  obligation  resting  on  religious 
teachers,  as  the  only  means  of  saving  the  souls  of  men,  is  to 
woo  all  to  the  unveiled  beamings  of  the  one  great,  free,  moral 
Sun.  It  is  his  light  alone  that  has  made  generation  after 
generation  beautiful  and  blessed  by  patriots,  sages,  martyrs, 
prophets,  and  apostles,  men  facing  the  dungeon,  the  sword,  and 
the  flame,  rather  than  desert  their  allegiance  to  the  truth  of 
God.  Contemplating  these,  we  ought  to  be  still  more  con- 
firmed in  the  belief  that  humanity  should  never  bow  to  a  frag- 
ment of  itself;  that  the  only  infallibility  to  which  we  should 
kneel  is  the  infallibility  of  conscience,  enlightened  by  the 
Holy  Spirit  —  that  most  sacred  of  all  creeds,  which  is  written 
by  the  finger  of  God  in  the  depths  of  every  renovated  heart. 
As  a  system  of  ecclesiastical  domination,  it  is  evident  that 
Popery  is  rapidly  going  to  decay.  Human  nature  is  tired 
of  the  political  and  theological  dismemberment  in  which,  for 
centuries,  it  has  been  living,  and  yearns  intensely  to  unfold 
itself  once  more  in  the  exercise  of  natural  faculties  and  rights. 
A  new  era  is  beginning,  when  Man  and  the  divine  prerogatives 
about  to  be  restored  to  him  will  constitute  the  noblest  privilege 
and  most  exalted  name.     The  hour  is  at  hand  when  the  true 


THE    CHURCH   WITHOUT   A   POPE.  191 

glory  of  a  state  will  be  regarded  as  consisting,  not  in  the 
aggrandizement  of  wealth  and  honors  among  a  few  exclusive 
individuals,  but  in  the  elevated  character,  the  magnanimous 
spirit,  and  improved  condition,  of  the  generality  of  the  citizens. 
Now,  it  is  not  a  Roman  Catholic  church,  but  a  Human  Cath- 
olic, a  truly  Christian  church,  which  alone  will  meet  and 
respond  to  the  wants  of  this  new  era ;  a  church  which  will 
resemble  the  infinitude  of  nature,  wherein  the  lowliest  things 
and  the  sublimest  things  are  found  side  by  side,  and  which  will 
seek  to  gather  children  into  its  bosom,  not  by  the  tricks  of  priest- 
craft and  inquisitorial  coercion,  but  by  intensest  love,  most  gen- 
erous freedom,  and  the  utmost  ministration  to  human  aspirings 
and  needs. 

When  Jesus  arose  to  work  through  the  simplest  means  the 
most  wondrous  of  revolutions,  mankind  had  so  much  forgotten 
God,  that  they  had  come  to  waste  their  affection  and  reverence 
on  material  emblems  of  the  Deity,  rather  than  on  Deity  himself. 
This  depraved  inclination  of  our  race  has  ever  formed  the 
chief  strength  of  the  Papacy.  It  ought  ever  to  have  been 
the  prompter  and  promoter  of  intellectual  progress,  and  its 
response  to  this  requirement  of  the  true  church  should  have 
been  equally  conducive  with  its  moral  beatitude  to  its  perma- 
nent power.  But  its  intellectualization  and  moralization  have 
not  maintained  an  abiding  vitality,  because  they  have  not  been 
the  cardinal  motives  of  church  polity.  The  gospel  is  pro- 
foundly republican  :  it  shows  how  little  regard  it  has  for  the 
power  of  man,  by  teaching  its  followers,  as  their  primary 
lesson,  to  submit  themselves  only  to  God.  It  constitutes  prog- 
ress an  autocracy,  and  consequently  prefers  that  man  should 
in  every  thing  be  his  own  master.  This  fundamental  truth  the 
Papacy  has  either  ignorantly  overlooked  or  unjustly  suppressed. 
But  it  is  now  too  late,  however  much  it  may  be  desired,  to 
keep  the  masses  longer  in  ignorance  on  this  point.  The  spirit 
of  the  age  is  too  intelligent  and  free,  to  suffer  the  chains  of 
ignorance  and  injustice  to  be  permanently  rivetted  on  their 
minds.     The   multitudes  have  learned  to  weigh  many  things, 


192  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

and  among  other  valuable  lessons  they  have  learned  their  own 
weight  in  the  affairs  of  both  church  and  state. 

Revolutionary  principles,  springing  from  the  gospel  of  Christ, 
have  for  eighteen  centuries  been  in  a  continued  process  of 
growth,  through  all  vicissitudes  generating  the  means  by  which 
to  act  on  society  with  fresher  vigor  and  more  comprehensive 
force.  This  spirit  of  renovation  and  improvement  has  not 
ceased  to  operate,  even  during  those  long  periods  of  apparent 
suspension  in  which  Imperial  or  Papal  policy  has  given  for  a 
time  a  sinister  direction  and  sombre  hue  to  the  movement.  It 
is  still  at  work,  having  much  done,  and  being  in  a  condition, 
undoubtedly,  to  do  vastly  more  for  humanity  in  the  times  at 
hand.  We  are,  perhaps,  to  feel  its  greatest  momentum  and 
witness  its  mightiest  shocks.  This  is  a  revolutionary  age  in 
the  best  sense  ;  as  all  the  omnipotence  of  nature  and  Provi- 
dence are  combined  to  energize  freedom  and  promote  progress. 
All  things  powerful  and  good  coalesce  to  diffuse  the  spirit  of 
free  institutions,  vindicate  them  from  reproach,  fortify  the  fee- 
ble for  their  defence,  and  plead  for  the  injured  of  every  class. 
The  whole  civilized  world  is  heaving  like  an  ocean,  and  the 
great  issues  of  freedom  are  working  themselves  clearly  out 
amid  the  throes  of  the  storm.  The  great  designs  of  Providence 
are  unfolding  with  tremendous  import,  before  which  the  arro- 
gance of  petty  monarchy  is  lost  like  the  buzz  of  an  insect  in 
the  thunder-crash.  In  the  light  and  liberality  that  begin  to  dis- 
tinguish our  age,  read  the  following  dictum  of  Gregory  IX. : 
"  There  is  only  one  name  in  the  world  —  the  Pope.  He  only 
can  bestow  the  investitures  of  kings ;  all  princes  ought  to 
kiss  his  feet.  No  one  can  judge  him  ;  his  simple  election 
makes  him  a  saint ;  he  has  never  erred  ;  he  never  will  err. 
He  can  depose  kings,  and  absolve  subjects  from  their  alle- 
giance." A  church  holding  such  principles  cannot  walk  in 
proportion  to  the  speed  of  all  around  it.  Hence  says  Fran- 
cisque  Bouvet,  "  Roman  Catholicism  has  vanished  at  the  aspect 
of  civilization.  It  is  undergoing  due  suffering  for  the  evil  of 
having  subjected  all  spiritually  to  its  views  of  temporal  aggran- 


THE  CHURCH  WITHOUT  A  POPE.  193 

dizement."  Doubtless  the  Romish  church  did  much  good  in 
its  day ;  but  it  has  fulfilled  its  mission,  and  has  become,  in  the 
estimation  of  most  persons,  a  hollowness,  and  a  lie ;  therefore, 
in  the  progress  of  truth,  all  its  trumpery  must  be  swept  away. 

"  Bulls,  pardons,  relics,  cowls,  black,  white,  and  gray, 
TJpwhirled,  and  flying  o'er  the  ethereal  plain, 
Fast  bound  for  Limbo  Lake." 

The  great  foe  of  the  Papacy  is  human  nature  rejuvenated, 
with  a  keener  consciousness  of  its  powers,  catching  clearer 
glimpses  of  its  legitimate  career,  panting  for  free  action  and  per- 
fect development.  Man  will  soon  learn  that  there  is  something 
diviner  than  ceremonies  or  creeds;  will  recognize  in  Jesus 
Christ  the  only  celestial  example,  the  only  Master  we  are 
bound  to  obey.  The  common  people  are  winning  a  familiarity 
with  grand  principles,  political  as  well  as  religious  ;  and  this 
kind  of  knowledge  is  death  to  all  tyranny.  Christianity  dis- 
plays truth  and  discloses  happiness  in  its  own  records ;  and 
these  were  given  to  the  church  to  be  spread  out  before  all 
mankind.  Because  the  Papal  prerogatives  have  been  employed 
in  restricting  the  circulation  of  divine  truth,  humanity,  instinc- 
tively soaring  towards  the  needful  light,  like  a  shaded  plant 
towards  the  sun,  has  outgrown  the  pope.  Spiritual  despotism 
can  no  longer  with  impunity  forge  fetters  for  the  mind,  since 
man,  the  indignant  victim  of  superstition,  now  renovated  in 
spirit  and  advancing  with  unshackled  limbs,  has  learned  to 
stoop  only  to  gather  up  the  fragmentary  chains  that  lie  shat- 
tered all  along  freedom's  path,  and  hurl  them  at  the  sham  in- 
fallibility it  has  unwillingly  too  long  revered. 

The  peculiar  tendency  of  the  popular  movements  of  this  age 
is  to  expansion,  diffusion,  and  universality;  a  tendency  directly 
opposed  to  the  exclusiveness  and  monopoly  which  character- 
ize the  institutions  of  the  dark  ages.  The  masses  scorn  an 
abject  position,  and  are  determined  to  rise  from  the  dust.  The 
many  have  assumed  and  worthily  fill  the  posts  once  restiicted 
to  a  few ;  the  privileges  once  sacred  to  a  segment  of  human- 
17 


194  REPUBLICAN   CHRISTIANITY. 

ity's  circle  now  are  flowing  equally  round  the  whole.  It  is 
beginning  to  be  understood  that,  of  all  rights,  religious  truth  is 
the  property  most  dear  to  every  man.  This  is  stronger  than 
councils  or  popes  ;  it  is  the  spirit  of  primitive  Christianity,  the 
divine  beauty  of  which  will  put  to  shame  the  hollow  dignities 
of  hierarchical  pomps,  and  pour  the  splendors  of  salvation  all 
over  earth.  The  ruling  forces  of  universal  empire  are  latent 
in  her  spirit,  ready  to  be  unfolded  every  where ;  and,  however 
reluctant  the  bigoted  may  be  to  yield  to  her  sway,  the  hour 
hastens  when  all  will  be  compelled  to  bow  to  her  sovereignty 
of  soul.  The  truthful  earnestness  of  the  true  church  of  Christ 
must  speedily  be  crowned  with  complete  success. 

"  Her  weapons,  like  the  sword 
Of  Michael,  from  the  armory  of  God, 
Are  given  her  so  tempered,  that  neither  Pope 
Nor  Papist  can  resist  their  edge." 

But  let  us  remind  ourselves,  again,  that,  however  great  have 
been  the  degeneracy  and  crimes  of  the  Papal  church,  her 
monuments  of  usefulness  are  numerous,  and  her  example  is 
not  only  a  beacon  to  warn,  but  a  model  in  many  respects  to  be 
admired.  With  fierce  bigotiy  she  may  have  armed  herself 
with  the  frightful  enginery  of  the  inquisition,  and  inflicted  the 
most  terrible  injuries  on  the  bodies  as  well  as  the  souls  of  men. 
But  she  can  never  do  the  like  again,  even  if  she  desired  it,  which 
we  do  not  believe.  It  is  something  worse  than  folly  to  overlook 
the  fact  that  the  Papacy  has  participated  in  the  progressive 
spirit  of  our  age,  as  well  as  all  other  powers.  Indeed,  the  pope 
of  to-day  stands  in  the  front  rank  of  national  reformers.  He 
has  struck  the  key-stone  from  the  arch  of  feudal  power,  and 
the  whole  infamous  edifice  is  now  tumbling  around  his  own,  as 
well  as  many  other  regal  heads.  Concerning  the  commingled 
excellences  and  evils  of  the  Papal  progress,  Guizot,  in  his 
"  History  of  Civilization,"  has  well  said,  "  Human  thought  and 
liberty,  however  fettered,  however  confined  for  room  and  space 
in  which  to    exercise  their  faculties,  oppose  with  so   much 


THE    CHURCH    WITHOUT   A   POPE.  195 

energy  every  attempt  to  enslave  them,  that  their  reaction  makes 
even  despotism  itself  to  yield,  and  give  up  something  every 
moment.  This  took  place  in  the  very  bosom  of  the  Christian 
church.  We  have  seen  heresy  proscribed,  the  right  of  free 
inquiry  condemned,  a  contempt  shown  for  individual  reason, 
the  principle  of  the  imperative  transmission  of  doctrines  by 
human  authority  established.  And  yet  where  can  we  find  a 
society  in  which  individual  reason  more  boldly  developed  itself 
than  in  the  church  ?  What  are  sects  and  heresies,  if  not  the 
fruit  of  individual  opinions  ?  These  sects,  these  heresies,  all 
these  oppositions  which  arose  in  the  Christian  church,  are  the 
most  decisive  proof  of  the  life  and  moral  activity  which  reigned 
within  her ;  a  life  stormy,  painful,  sown  with  perils,  with  errors, 
and  crimes,  yet  splendid  and  mighty,  and  which  has  given  place 
to  the  noblest  developments  of  intelligence  and  mind." 

The  tide  of  improvement  is  sweeping  forward  through  all 
Europe  with  increased  volume  and  speed.  A  mighty  influence; 
is  at  work  every  where,  tempering  the  clay  to  mould  great 
men,  true  Christians,  and  effective  reformers.  How  unlike  is 
the  condition  of  things  this  moment  around  the  Papal  throne, 
compared  with  what  it  was  only  four  years  ago,  when  Mazzini 
complained,  in  view  of  the  martyrdom  of  some  of  his  co-patri- 
ots, "  There  was  in  these  men  a  will  of  iron,  which  only  hard- 
ened on  the  anvil  of  obstacle.  They  wished  to  die  ;  they  had 
perceived  the  great  cause  which  yet  hinders  us  from  being 
free  —  the  want  of  harmony  between  thought  and  action.  They 
knew  that  the  national  opinion  —  the  opinion  which  says  that 
an  Italy  ought  to  be  —  is  general  amongst  us ;  but  they  felt 
that,  even  to  the  present  day,  it  is  only  an  opinion ;  that  faith 
is  wanting ;  the  faith  which  compels  men  to  incarnate  that 
which  they  think  in  acts  ;  the  faith  which  teaches  that  life  is  a 
representation,  continual,  progressive,  of  what  we  believe  to  be 
truth  and  justice.  And  this  faith  they  saw  no  means  of  teach- 
ing in  the  Italy  of  to-day,  without  press,  without  parliament, 
without  schools,  without  liberty  of  conscience,  without  any 
thing  to  render  education  possible,  except  it  was  by  example 


196  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

They  wished  to  set  this  example  ;  they  wished  to  bear  witness ; 
they  wished  to  say  to  their  fellow-citizens,  '  See,  the  belief  in  an 
Italy  to  come,  the  belief  in  the  duty  of  action  to  engender  that, 
is  so  true,  that  we  step  to  death  far  it  ! '  Tyranny,  they  would 
say,  can  stifle  all  except  the  last  cry  of  the  man  who  dies  upon 
the  scaffold  for  his  faith." 

But  not  in  vain  have  martyrs  toiled,  wept,  prayed,  taught,  and 
died.  Their  redeeming  spirit  survives  to  witness  earth's  des- 
tiny, as,  in  these  auspicious  days,  it  is  gloriously  working  out. 
Chains  are  sundering,  truth  is  spreading,  shouts  of  redeemed 
nations  are  to  heaven  rising,  and  soon,  from  his  effulgent  throne, 
will  the  sun  look  down  on  all  the  world  without  a  heretic,  and 
the  church  without  a  pope. 


CHAPTER    III. 

THE  CHURCH  WITHOUT  A  BISHOP. 

In  the  two  preceding  chapters,  we  have  considered  some  of 
the  unhappy  consequences  flowing  from  an  alliance  of  the 
church  with  Imperial  and  Papal  power.  But  there  are  evils 
connected  with  the  amalgamation  of  ecclesiastical  and  civil 
institutions  under  other  forms  of  not  less  magnitude.  Unfortu- 
nately, Protestant  establishments  present  to  the  world,  in  the 
nineteenth  century  of  the  Christian  era,  the  most  intimate  and 
injurious  coalitions  of  church  and  state. 

We  shall  be  likely  to  apprehend  some  of  the  iniquitous  fea- 
tures of  this  system,  while  we  observe  that  bishops  are  not 
essential  to  constitute  a  church,  were  never  designed  to  exer- 
cise lordship  over  equals  in  Christ,  and  are  no  longer  needed 
to  oppress  the  sacred  brotherhood. 

In  the  first  place,  let  us  prove  historically  that,  according  to 
the  Episcopal  meaning  of  the  word,  bishops  arc  not  essential 


THE    CHURCH    WITHOUT   A   BISHOP.  197 

to  constitute  a  church.  The  authorities  we  cite  are  from  stand- 
ard works  only,  used  in  all  theological  schools,  and  most  gen- 
erally approved. 

Says  Coleman,  in  his  work  on  the  "  Apostolical  and  Primi- 
tive Church,"  p.  255,  "  In  the  beginning,  there  was  but  one 
church  in  a  city,  to  which  all  the  Christian  converts  belonged. 
But  the  care  of  the  church  was  intrusted,  not  to  one  man,  but 
to  several,  who  constituted  a  college  of  presbyters,  and  divided 
the  duties  of  their  office  among  themselves.  This  arrangement 
was  analogous  to  that  of  the  Jewish  synagogue,  after  which  the 
church  was  organized.  A  plurality  of  persons  every  where 
appear  in  the  Acts  as  the  representatives  of  the  church  at 
Jerusalem.  They  represent,  also,  the  church  at  Ephesus,  (Acts 
xx.  17 — 28,)  and  at  Philippi,  (Phil.  i.  1.)  Titus  was  also  in- 
structed to  ordain  elders  in  all  the  cities  in  Crete.  In  such  a 
college  of  elders,  sharing  a  joint  responsibility  in  the  care  of 
the  churches,  it  would  obviously  be  convenient,  if  not  indispen- 
sable, for  one  of  their  number  to  act  as  the  moderator  or  pres- 
ident of  their  assemblies.  Such  a  designation,  however,  would 
confer  on  the  presiding  elder  no  official  superiority  over  his 
fellow-presbyters  ;  but,  coupled  with  age,  and  talents,  and  spirit- 
ual gifts,  it  might  give  him  a  control  in  their  councils  and  in  the 
government  of  the  church.  This  control,  and  this  official  rank  as 
the  5t^o£cttc5s,  the  presiding  elder,  which  was  first  conceded  to  him 
by  his  fellow-presbyters  only  as  to  a  fellow-presbyter ,  a  primus 
inter  pares,  he  began,  in  time,  to  claim  as  his  official  preroga- 
tive. He  first  began,  by  moral  means  and  the  influence  of 
accidental  circumstances,  to  be  the  bishop  of  the  church,  and 
afterwards  claimed  the  office  as  his  right.  This  assumption  of 
authority  gave  rise  to  the  gradual  distinction  between  bishop 
and  presbyter.  It  began  early  to  disturb  the  relations  of  equal- 
ity which  at  first  subsisted  between  the  ministers  of  the 
churches,  and,  in  the  course  of  the  second  and  third  centuries, 
resulted  in  the  division  of  the  clergy  into  two  distinct  orders, 
bishops  and  presbyters.'" 

This  comprehensive  exposition  of  the  origin  of  domineering 
17* 


198  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

Episcopacy  has  the  sanction  of  all  the  leading  writers  of  eccle- 
siastical history. 

The  "  King's  Book,"  published  in  1543,  asserted  that  there 
is  "  no  real  distinction  between  bishops  and  priests,1'  and  taught 
essentially  the  same  doctrine  respecting  the  deacon  of  the 
primitive  church  as  is  now  held  by  Congregationalists.  It 
further  declared,  that  the  Scripture  made  no  mention  of  any 
other  church  officers  but  these  two  —  priests,  or  elders,  and 
deacons.  —  Hist.  Cong.ut  sup.    Dwight's  Theology,  serm.  151. 

Neander's  account  of  the  officers  and  government  of  the 
Gentile  churches  during  the  apostolic  age  is  as  follows  :  "  It  is, 
therefore,  certain  that  every  church  was  governed  by  a  union 
of  the  elders  or  overseers  chosen  from  among  themselves  ;  and 
we  find  no  individual  distinguished  above  the  rest,  who  presided 
as  a.  primus  inter  pares,  [a  chief  among  equals,]  though  prob- 
ably, in  the  age  immediately  succeeding  the  apostolic,  of  which 
we  have,  unfortunately,  so  few  authentic  memorials,  the  prac- 
tice was  introduced  of  applying  to  such  a  one  the  name  of 
iTtlaxoTio;,  [bishop,  overseer,]  by  way  of  distinction."  —  Hist. 
Apost.  Chh,  vol.  i.  pp.  168,  169.' 

The  correctness  of  Mosheim's  account  of  the  humble  char- 
acter and  limited  authority  of  the  primitive  bishop  is  admitted 
by  Waddington,  who  says,  "  The  government  of  a  single  per- 
son protected  each  society  from  internal  dissension  ;  the  elec- 
tiveness  of  that  governor  rendered  probable  his  merit."  —  Hist. 
Chh.  p.  44. 

Lord  King's  representation  is,  u  There  was  but  one  bishop, 
strictly  so  called,  in  a  church  at  a  time,  who  was  related  to  his 
flock  as  a  pastor  to  his  sheep,  and  a  parent  to  his  children."  — 
Inquiry,  ch.  1,  §  5.  And  again,  "  There  was  but  one  church 
to  a  bishop."  And  this  church,  he  tells  us,  was  ua  single 
congregation."  —  lb.  2,  §  1.  "  The  bishop's  diocese  exceeded 
not  the  bounds  of  a  modern  parish,  and  was  the  same,  as  in 
name  so  also  in  thing."  —  lb.  §  2. 

Dr.  Campbell  gives  the  following  account  of  the  bishop's 
relation  to  his  church  in  the  third  century :  — 


THE    CHURCH   WITHOUT    A   BISHOP.  199 

"  The  bishop,  who  was  properly  the  pastor,  had  the  charge 
of  no  more  than  one  parish,  one  church,  or  congregation,  the 
parishioners  all  assembling  in  the  same  place  with  him  for 
the  purposes  of  public  worship,  religious  instruction,  and  the 
solemn  commemoration  of  the  death  of  Christ."  —  Lee.  8, 
p.  128. 

Gieseler's  account  of  the  apostolic  churches  is  this :  "  The 
new  churches  every  where  formed  themselves  on  the  model 
of  the  mother  church  at  Jerusalem.  At  the  head  of  each 
were  the  elders,  TtQaa^vjeQoi,  intaxonoi,  [elders,  bishops,]  all 
officially  of  equal  rank,  though,  in  several  instances,  a  peculiar 
authority  seems  to  have  been  conceded  to  some  one  individual 
from  personal  considerations.  After  the  death  of  the  apostles, 
and  the  pupils  of  the  apostles,  to  whom  the  general  direction 
of  the  churches  had  always  been  conceded,  some  one  amongst 
the  presbyters  of  each  church  was  suffered  gradually  to  take 
the  lead  in  its  affairs.  In  the  same  irregular  way  the  title  of 
irclaxonog,  bishop,  was  appropriated  to  the  first  presbyter."  — 
Coleman's  Antiq.  pp.  101—103. 

It  is  evident,  from  these  witnesses,  and  the  still  clearer  testi- 
mony of  the  New  Testament  itself,  that  in  the  primitive  church 
there  were  but  two  kinds  of  officers,  and  two  classes  of  duties 
corresponding  to  these.  The  first  was  a  pastor,  or  bishop,  who 
was  to  "  take  heed  to  all  the  flock,"  "  to  feed  the  church  of 
God,"  and  to  "give  himself  continually  to  prayer  and  to  the 
ministry  of  the  word."  For  this  reason,  "  a  bishop  must  be 
apt  to  teach,"  "able,  by  sound  doctrine,  both  to  exhort  and  to 
convince  the  gainsayers."  Says  Crowell,  "  The  duties  of  this 
office  are  therefore  to  teach  religion,  and  to  look  after  the  spir- 
itual welfare  of  the  church.  The  other  class  of  duties  is  of  a 
temporal  nature,  requiring  "not  aptness  to  teach,  but  eminent 
piety,  honesty,  sobriety,  good  sense,  and  business  habits.  These 
are  provided  for  in  the  office  of  deacon,  whose  duties  may  be 
inferred  from  the  word  diaconus,  waiting  servant,  from  the  cir- 
cumstances in  which  the  office  originated,  and  from  the  requi- 
site qualifications.     1  Tim.  iii.  8 — 13.     The  wants  of  churches 


200  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

are  all  provided  for  in  these  two  offices.  They  have  no 
more  occasion  for  the  services  of  prelates,  or  diocesan  bishops, 
to  govern  churches,  ordain  ministers,  and  administer  discipline, 
than  a  civil  state  has  for  those  of  an  autocrat,  or  a  dictator.'" 

The  church  of  Christ,  as  originally  constituted,  is  purely 
republican.  Christ  commissioned  all  his  disciples  to  go  forth 
and  proclaim  the  truth,  giving  them  no  authority  over  others, 
no  preeminence  among  themselves.  Of  all  kinds  of  instruc- 
tion, religious  exercises  were  to  be  the  most  free.  Every 
apostle  received  wisdom  from  the  original  source,  and  acted  on 
his  own  responsibility  in  its  distribution.  Paul,  the  last  acces- 
sion to  the  apostolic  band,  was  the  most  independent  and  pow- 
erful. He  boasts  that  he  received  his  doctrine  straightway  from 
God,  and  not  from  those  "  who  were  apostles  before  him."  He 
would  not  allow  the  council  at  Jerusalem  to  cripple  his  spirit 
by  their  decision,  but  expanded  his  views  beyond  Jewish  big- 
otry and  local  prejudice,  under  the  legitimate  influence  of  that 
ennobling  Christianity  which  he  loved  and  heroically  toiled  to 
spread  abroad.  In  those  days,  Christians  were  "  a  royal  priest- 
hood ; "  all  of  them  being  "  kings  and  priests  "  appointed  to  offer 
"  a  spiritual  sacrifice."  When,  for  practical  purposes,  a  church 
organization  was  required,  the  synagogue  was  adopted  as  their 
model,  which  claimed  no  power  to  domineer ;  and  not  the 
temple,  whose  officers  assumed  the  exercise  of  high  govern- 
mental powers.  Their  elders  and  deacons  were  chosen  by 
popular  suffrage,  and  were  as  much  of  the  people  after  their 
election  as  before.  The  distinction  between  clergy  and  laity 
was  unknown  ;  all  were  sons  of  God,  upon  whom  the  Holy 
Ghost  in  equal  measures  fell.  They  were  "  anointed  of  God," 
and  "  knew  all  things ; "  they  "  needed  not  that  any  man 
should  teach  them."  Christ  broke  every  priestly  yoke,  and 
bade  men  pray  as  he  did,  with  no  intermediate  official,  nothing 
between  them  and  the  Father  of  lights  ;  making  the  whole 
earth  a  temple,  and  each  true  breathing  of  the  heart  acceptable 
adoration.  More  than  two  centuries  passed  before  masters  of 
doctrine  arose,  who  claimed  to  bind  and  loose  on  earth  and  in 


THE    CHURCH   WITHOUT   A   BISHOP.  201 

heaven.  These  were  the  favored  ones,  who  knew  expressly  all 
about  "  the  mind  of  the  Lord,"  the  "  successors  of  the  apos- 
tles," who,  as  "  the  clergy,"  first  made  themselves  "  the 
church,"  and  ended  by  setting  themselves  above  the  reason 
and  conscience  of  every  individual  soul. 

Christianity,  by  its  very  nature,  is  independent  of  every  thing 
terrestrial  and  human.  It  has  no  sacred  localities,  no  station- 
ary shrines.  Should  Sinai  and  Calvary,  Jerusalem  and  Rome, 
Wittemberg  and  Geneva,  disappear  from  the  earth,  Christianity 
would  remain  unaffected.  Least  of  all  should  we  infer  from 
the  Scriptures  that  such  an  anomaly  could  exist  as  a  national 
church,  wherein  all  the  religious  organizations  sink  their  inde- 
pendencies into  uniform  subserviency  to  a  single  worldly  sov- 
ereign and  a  few  semi-political  prelates.  Christ  is  the  only 
Master  in  Christianity,  and  the  entire  framework  of  his  admin- 
istration is  spiritual.  Attempt  to  combine  with  it  state  patron- 
age or  coercion,  and  you  utterly  destroy  its  power.  The  prime 
command  of  divine  religion  is,  "  Choose  ; "  that  of  a  state 
church  is,  "  Who  are  you,  sir,  that  you  should  presume  to 
choose  ? "  When  God  approaches  a  man,  he  recognizes  his 
individuality,  his  independency,  and  freedom  of  action.  But 
when  man  presumes  to  legislate  for  his  fellow-man  in  religious 
things,  he  arrogates  authority  which  belongs  only  to  God,  and 
degrades  the  passive  victim  of  his  tyrannical  control.  The 
instant  civil  government  is  employed  as  a  means  in  Christianity, 
all  its  primitive  beauty  and  force  are  destroyed.  For  a  little 
while  longer,  perhaps,  it  may  continue  "  the  be-all  and  end- 
all  "  of  Episcopal  religion  to  exalt  "  the  church  "  above  Chris- 
tianity, the  hierarchy  above  God,  ordination  above  edification ; 
but  surrounding  multitudes  are  waking  up  to  juster  and  more 
scriptural  views,  not  having  yet  forgotten  the  cry  of  the  Wal- 
denses  —  "All  Christians  are  priests." 

John  Huss  was  burned  at  the  stake  for  asserting,  "  If  he 
who  calls  himself  the  vicar  of  Jesus  Christ  imitates  the  life  of 
Jesus  Christ,  he  is  his  vicar ;  but,  if  he  follows  an  opposite 
course,  he  is  the  messenger  of  Antichrist."    This  truth  we  hold. 


202  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

We  believe  that  gospel  institutions  are  not  formed  by  a  power 
without,  but  within.  Every  man  born  of  the  Spirit  of  God,  and 
obedient  to  the  commands  of  Christ,  has  a  perfect  right  to  all 
church  privileges ;  and  every  such  Christian,  according  to  his 
measure  of  gifts,  is  divinely  commissioned  to  be  a  teacher  of 
the  doctrines  he  has  professed.  In  the  language  of  D'Aubigne, 
"  Where  the  Spirit  is,  there  is  the  church ;  this  is  the  principle 
of  the  reform :  where  the  church  is,  there  is  the  Spirit,  is  the 
principle  of  Rome  and  Oxford ;  and  it  is  also,  though  in  a 
milder  form,  that  of  Lutheranism."  John  Milton  had  a  vivid 
conception  of  the  republican  character  of  the  primitive  Chris- 
tianity^, and  of  its  infinite  superiority  over  all  state  religion. 
Says  he,  "  That  the  magistrate  should  take  into  his  power  the 
stipendiary  maintenance  of  church  ministers,  as  compelled  by 
law,  can  stand  neither  with  the  people's  thought  nor  with 
Christian  liberty,  but  would  suspend  the  church  wholly  upon 
the  state,  and  turn  the  ministers  into  state  pensioners.  For  the 
magistrate  to  make  the  church  his  mere  ward,  as  always  in 
minority ;  the  church,  to  whom  he  ought,  as  a  magistrate,  '  to 
bow  down  his  face  toward  the  earth,  and  lick  up  the  dust  of 
her  feet;'  her  to  subject  to  his  political  drifts,  or  conceived 
opinions,  is  neither  just  nor  pious  ;  no  honor  done  to  the  church, 
but  a  plain  dishonor ;  and  upon  her  whose  head  is  in  heaven, — 
yea,  upon  Him  who  is  the  only  head  in  effect ;  and  what  is 
most  monstrous,  a  human  on  a  heavenly,  a  carnal  on  a  spirit- 
ual, a  political  head  on  an  ecclesiastical  body  ;  which  at  length, 
by  such  heterogeneal,  such  incestuous  conjunction,  transforms 
her  ofttimes  into  a  beast  of  many  heads  and  many  horns." 
What  the  Christian  church  is,  has  been  admirably  defined  by 
the  same  profound  thinker  and  unrivalled  author,  in  his 
"Treatise  on  Christian  Doctrine,  compiled  from  the  Holy 
Scriptures  alone." 

"  The  visible  church  is  either  universal  or  particular. 

"  The  universal  visible  church  is  the  whole  multitude  of 
those  who  are  called,  in  every  part  of  the  world,  and  who 
openly    worship    God    the   Father    through   Christ,    in    any 


THE    CHURCH   WITHOUT   A   BISHOP.  203 

place  whatever,  either  individually  or  in  conjunction  with 
others. 

"  A  particular  church  is  a  society  of  persons  professing  the 
faith,  united  by  a  special  bond  of  brotherhood,  and  so  ordered 
as  may  best  promote  the  ends  of  edification  and  mutual  com- 
munion of  the  saints." 

Having  thus  shown  that  bishops  are  not  essential  to  con- 
stitute a  church,  we  proceed,  secondly,  to  observe  that  they 
never  were  designed  to  exercise  lordship  over  equals  in  Christ. 
The  plan  projected  by  our  Lord  for  planting  the  kingdom  of 
truth  and  righteousness  in  the  world  is  admirably  stated  by 
Reinhard  in  the  following  extract :  "  He  directed  his  apostles 
never  to  think  of  striving  after  civil  power,  or  any  other  influ- 
ence than  that  which  could  be  obtained  by  exhibiting  the  truth 
and  setting  a  virtuous  example.  Luke  xxii.  24 — 27.  1  Pet. 
v.  2,  3.  They  were  to  gain  none  by  promising  them  earthly 
advantage,  but  were  ever  to  inculcate  upon  their  hearers  the 
truth,  that  virtue  must  look  for  its  full  reward  to  another  world. 
Matt.  x.  37 — 39.  They  were  not  to  constitute  a  secret  soci- 
ety, nor  operate  by  secret  arts,  but  to  go  forth  into  all  the 
world  and  make  known  the  truth  ireely  and  publicly  to  all 
nations.  Matt,  xxviii.  19,20.  Acts  i.  8.  In  so  doing  they  were 
not  merely  to  enjoin  it  upon  every  one  to  believe  their  word, 
but  they  were  to  call  upon  every  one  to  hear  their  reasons  and 
examine  them  for  themselves.  Wherever  they  found  people  who 
advocated  the  truth,  they  were  to  establish  institutions  for  the 
preservation  and  extension  of  a  more  thorough  acquaintance 
with  it.  Hence  they  were  to  prepare  men  by  education  for 
teaching  others,  and  institute  meetings  and  exercises  for  the 
common  information  and  encouragement  of  all  the  professors 
of  this  pure  religion.  In  their  efforts,  indeed,  they  were  not  to 
allow  themselves  to  be  checked  or  disturbed  by  vetoes  or  magis- 
terial power,  (Matt.  x.  17 — 33.  John  xv.  17,  to  chap.  xvi.  4,) 
for  no  earthly  ruler  has  a  right  to  prohibit  his  subjects  from 
receiving  this  religion,  addressing  itself,  as  it  does,  to  the  con- 
science, or  to  lay  down  precepts  for  directing  them  in  attend- 


204  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

ing  to  their  moral  education  and  the  welfare  of  their  souls. 
Acts  iv.  19,  20.  On  the  other  hand,  they  were  not  to  allow 
those  who  wished  to  become  of  their  number  to  occasion  any 
discord  in  society,  or,  under  any  pretence  whatever,  to  trans- 
gress the  several  relations  to  which  they  had  been  assigned, 
(1  Cor.  vii.  17 — 22,)  or  refuse  to  give  due  honor  to  their  rulers, 
and  yield  the  most  willing  and  punctual  obedience  to  their  law- 
ful regulations.  Rom.  xiii.  1 — 7.  1  Pet.  ii.  13 — 17.  Tit.  iii.  1. 
They  were  rather  to  aim  earnestly  at  transforming  all  the  ad- 
vocates of  the  truth  into  the  most  diligent,  faithful,  and  useful 
citizens,  by  inculcating  it  upon  them,  as  a  general  principle, 
that  they  were  bound  to  honor  the  doctrines  which  they  pro- 
fessed, and  advance  the  truth  as  much  as  possible,  by  exhibiting 
the  most  upright  and  dignified  conduct  in  all  their  relations. 
Matt.  v.  16.  1  Pet.  ii.  11,  12.  Phil.  i.  27.  Col.  i.  10.  Tit.  ii. 
5 — 10.  In  this  way,  then,  was  the  truth  to  conquer  of  itself. 
It  needed  no  foreign  aid.  The  nations  of  the  earth  would 
gradually  ascertain  that  it  would  be  for  their  interests,  in  every 
respect,  to  embrace  it  and  obey  it.  All  those,  also,  who  gave 
themselves  up  to  the  advancement  of  the  Savior's  great  views, 
were  to  expect  the  protection  and  assistance  of  Heaven,  which 
was  of  far  more  importance  than  the  favor  of  the  world ;  for 
the  plan  in  which  Jesus  was  engaged,  was  the  work  of  God. 
John  iv.  34,  with  chap.  xvii.  It  was  the  object  of  the  Governor 
of  the  world,  and  of  the  Father  of  mankind,  to  bless  the  whole 
human  family,  and  give  the  inhabitants  of  the  earth  the  highest 
proof  of  his  infinite  love,  by  carrying  this  great  undertaking 
into  effect. 

"  Such  is  the  great  plan,  which,  according  to  historical  testi- 
mony, Jesus  devised  for  the  good  of  our  race,  and  such  are 
the  means  which  were  to  be  employed  for  carrying  it  into  com- 
plete effect.  That  it  has  been  misapprehended  and  misrepre- 
sented, is  neither  his  fault  nor  that  of  his  friends.  It  has  not 
yet  been  carried  into  complete  effect,  at  least  to  such  a  degree 
as  its  author  intended,  and  as  could  be  wished.  With  this, 
however,  we  have  nothing  to  do.     It  is  sufficient  that  Jesus 


THE    CHURCH    WITHOUT   A   BISHOP.  205 

intended  it  should  be  ;  that  this  was  the  object  which  he  had  in 
view."    pp.  117,  118. 

Now,  any  form  of  religious  establishment,  papal,  primatical, 
or  episcopal,  we  believe  calculated  to  violate  these  scriptural 
principles  by  fostering  servile  education,  training  an  obsequious 
priesthood,  and  rivetting  the  bonds  of  degrading  tyranny  upon 
the  popular  mind.  We  will  examine  these  points  in  the  order 
named. 

In  the  first  place,  the  existence  of  episcopal  primacy  in 
the  church  tends  to  foster  a  servile  education  in  all  its  mem- 
bers. In  the  presence  and  under  the  control  of  national  reli- 
gion, national  education  will  be  a  political  agency  mainly, 
employed  to  fortify  tottering  thrones  and  decayed  dynasties, 
not  to  promote  human  greatness  and  joy  in  all  the  practical 
walks  of  popular  improvement.  The  despots  of  Europe  dis- 
covered some  time  since  that,  from  the  extension  of  liberal 
sentiments,  and  the  growing  empire  of  the  press,  it  would  be 
unsafe  for  them  to  rely  on  the  old  weapons  of  tyranny  as  they 
had  been  hitherto  employed.  They  knew  that  standing  armies 
are  losing  their  value ;  the  sword  is  growing  patriotic  rather 
than  oppressive,  and  the  bayonet  is  inclined  to  fraternize  with 
the  populace,  instead  of  piercing  its  heart.  To  secure  general 
control,  other  influences  must  be  put  in  operation,  of  which 
powers  education  occupies  the  front  rank.  But  it  is  a  great 
mistake  to  suppose  that  an  educated  nation  will  necessarily  in 
the  highest  sense  be  free.  Educated  slaves  abound  as  well  as 
ignorant  ones,  and  quite  as  disposed  to  "  crook  the  pregnant 
hinges  of  the  knee,  where  thrift  may  follow  fawning  ;  "  indeed, 
they  are  generally  the  most  degraded,  for  there  are  rugged 
energies  in  the  ignorant  which  occasionally  rebel  against 
oppression,  and  perform  the  work  of  holier  agencies,  whereas 
an  educated  slave  is  too  abject  to  rise  against  dignified  despot-, 
ism.  How  have  Austria,  France,  and  especially  Russia,  been 
employed  for  the  last  half  century  ?  They  have  been  uncom- 
monly active  in  establishing  institutions  and  promoting  plans 
for  the  instruction  of  their  subjects.  But  what  are  the  nature 
18 


206  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

and  tendency  of  the  lessons  imparted  to  the  masses  of  the  peo- 
ple ?  Not  such  as  are  calculated  to  unfold"  in  each  soul  the 
true,  the  beautiful,  and  the  just,  in  harmony  and  holiness,  but 
such  as  would  incline  them  still  to  remain  the  quiet  serfs  of 
tyranny.  The  bold,  free  characteristics  and  aspirations  of  the 
individual,  by  this  process,  are  sacrificed,  and  one  mechanical, 
levelling  scheme  is  pursued,  fatal  to  all  manly  earnestness,  all 
enthusiasm,  all  lofty  emulation,  all  courage,  and  all  strength. 
Our  countryman,  Horace  Mann,  not  long  since  went  personally 
to  survey  this  process,  and  has  described  its  effects.  He  regrets 
the  incompetency  of  the  Prussian  population,  and  accounts  for 
it  as  follows  :  — 

"  When  the  children  come  out  from  the  school,  they  have 
little  use  either  for  the  faculties  that  have  been  developed,  or 
for  the  knowledge  that  has  been  acquired.  Their  resources 
are  not  brought  into  demand ;  their  powers  are  not  roused  and 
strengthened  by  exercise.  Our  common  phrases,  4  the  active 
duties  of  life,'  '  the  responsibilities  of  citizenship,'  '  the  stage, 
the  career  of  action,'  '  the  obligations  to  posterity,'  would  be 
strange-sounding  words  in  a  Prussian  ear.  There,  government 
steps  in  to  take  care  of  the  subject,  almost  as  much  as  the  sub- 
ject takes  care  of  his  cattle.  The  subject  has  no  officers  to 
choose,  no  inquiry  into  the  character  or  eligibleness  of  candi- 
dates to  make,  no  vote  to  give.  He  has  no  laws  to  enact  or 
abolish.  He  has  no  questions  about  peace  or  war,  finance, 
taxes,  tariffs,  post-office,  or  internal  improvement,  to  decide  or 
discuss.  He  is  not  asked  where  a  road  shall  be  laid,  or  how  a 
bridge  shall  be  built;  although,  in  the  one  case,  he  has  to  per- 
form the  labor,  and  in  the  other  to  supply  the  materials.  His 
sovereign  is  born  to  him  ;  the  laws  are  made  for  him.  In  war, 
his  part  is  not  to  declare  it,  or  to  aim  at  the  end  of  it,  but  to 
fight  and  be  shot  in  it,  and  to  pay  for  it.  The  tax-gatherer  tells 
him  how  much  he  is  to  pay ;  the  ecclesiastical  authority  plans 
a  church,  which  he  must  build  ;  and  his  spiritual  guide,  who 
has  been  set  over  him  by  another,  prepares  a  creed  and  a  con- 
fession of  faith  all  ready  for  his  signature.     He  is  directed 


THE    CHURCH   WITHOUT   A   BISHOP.  207 

alike  how  he  must  obey  his  king  and  worship  his  God.  Now, 
although  there  is  a  sleeping  ocean  in  the  bosom  of  every  child 
that  is  born  into  the  world,  yet,  if  no  freshening,  life-giving 
breeze  ever  sweeps  across  its  surface,  why  should  it  not  repose 
in  dark  stagnation  forever  ?  " 

At  the  same  time  he  believes  the  stagnation  in  Prussia  not  to 
be  so  profound  or  enduring  as  it  may  appear  to  a  superficial 
observer.     He  proceeds  to  remark,  — 

"  A  proverb  has  now  obtained  currency  in  Prussia,  which 
explains  the  whole  mystery  of  the  relation  between  their  schools 
and  their  life.  •  The  school  is  good,  the  world  is  bad.'  The 
quiescence  or  torpidity  of  social  life  stifles  the  activity  excited 
in  the  school-room.  Whatever  pernicious  habits  and  customs 
exist  in  the  community,  act  as  antagonistic  forces  against  the 
moral  training  of  the  teacher.  The  power  of  the  government 
presses  upon  the  partially-developed  faculties  of  the  youth  as 
with  a  mountain's  weight.  Still,  in  knowledge  and  in  morality, 
in  the  intellect  and  in  the  conscience,  there  is  an  expansive 
force  which  no  earthly  power  can  overcome.  Though  rocks 
and  mountains  were  piled  upon  it,  its  imprisoned  might  will 
rend  them  asunder,  and  heave  them  from  their  bases,  and 
achieve  for  itself  a  sure  deliverance.  No  one  who  witnesses 
that  quiet,  noiseless  development  of  mind  which  is  now  going 
forward  in  Prussia,  through  the  agency  of  its  educational  insti- 
tutions, can  hesitate  to  predict  that  the  time  is  not  far  distant 
when  the  people  will  assert  their  right  to  a  participation  in  their 
own  government.  The  late  king  made  a  vow  to  his  subjects 
that  he  would  give  them  a  constitution ;  he  survived  a  quarter 
of  a  century  to  falsify  his  word,  and  at  last  went  down  to  his 
grave  with  the  promise  unredeemed.  This  was  a  severer  shock 
to  his  power  than  if  he  had  lost  half  the  wealth  of  his  realm. 
Thousands  of  his  subjects  do  not  hesitate  now  to  declare  that 
fidelity  on  his  part  was  the  only  equivalent  for  loyalty  on  theirs  ; 
and,  standing  in  his  mausoleum,  amid  the  costliest  splendors 
of  architecture  and  statuary,  —  the  marble  walls  around  cov- 
ered with  gilded  inscriptions  in  honor  of  the  royal  name, — 


208  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

they  interpolate  a  black  line  upon  his  golden  epitaph,  and  say, 
'  He  promised  his  people  a  constitution,  but  violated  his  royal 
faith,  and  died  forsworn  ! '  " 

Ay,  within  a  few  months  past,  the  outraged  people  have 
done  more  and  better  than  that ;  they  have  rebelled  en  masse, 
and  won  the  privileges  so  long  refused.  But  there  are  other 
examples  which  should  give  timely  warning  of  similar  results 
against  political  and  spiritual  despotism.  Look  at  England, 
and  observe  how  education  there  produces  little  or  no  other 
effect  than  that  of  substituting  a  polished  for  a  barbarous  sla- 
very. All  the  great  universities  are  in  the  hands  of  the  Epis- 
copacy, and  no  student  can  enter  their  halls  without  first 
swearing  fealty  to  her  Thirty-nine  Articles.  Oxford  and 
Cambridge  are  the  richest  educational  establishments  in  the 
world,  furnished  with  the  choicest  spoils  of  literature  and  sci- 
ence, and  offering  to  the  emulative  the  accumulated  thought  of 
earth's  sages  and  poets,  from  Homer  down  to  our  own  day. 
What  is  the  result  ?  One  would  suppose  that  these  two  univer- 
sities would  produce  the  most  zealous  prophets  and  magnani- 
mous legislators,  the  wisest  leaders  of  civilization,  the  bravest 
tribunes  of  the  people,  the  most  beneficent  disciples  of  Christ. 
"  But,"  says  William  Maccall,  "  the  only  fruit  of  so  much 
intellectual  wealth,  of  such  varied  intellectual  stimulus,  is 
slavery,  —  slavery  of  the  most  abject  kind.  Those  who  emerge 
from  those  famous  halls,  from  those  cloisters  professedly  sacred 
to  religion  and  philosophy,  may  be  scholars,  may  be  gentlemen, 
but  they  are  not  what  is  higher,  men.  They  are  crammed 
with  Greek  and  mathematics,  armed  with  the  glittering  eti- 
quettes which  habit  can  teach  the  dullest  to  use  with  as  much 
dexterity  as  the  shrewdest.  But  they  dare  not  think,  they  dare 
not  wander  from  the  beaten  path ;  they  are  as  much  chained 
to  custom,  and  to  the  paltriest  absurdities  that  custom  has  hal- 
lowed, as  the  felon  is  to  his  galley.  Instead  of  aiding  social 
and  political  progress,  they  are  its  fiercest  enemies.  Instead 
of  a  comprehensive  knowledge  of  the  tendencies  and  wants, 
and   an  enlarged  and  generous  sympathy  with  the  fate  of 


THE   CHURCH   WITHOUT   A   BISHOP.  209 

mankind,  they  display  an  ignorance  of  humanity  which  is 
equalled  only  by  their  indifference  to  its  destiny.  They  confine 
their  interest  entirely  to  England,  and,  even  in  England,  their 
interest  is  further  narrowed  to  those  who  hold  the  same  political 
opinions  or  are  connected  with  the  same  ecclesiastical  institu- 
tions as  themselves.  I  am  convinced  that  the  great  mass  of 
the  clergymen  of  the  church  of  England  know  absolutely 
nothing  of  the  state  of  feeling  and  opinion  beyond  the  narrow 
circle  in  which  they  usually  move.  I  say  this  more  in  regret 
than  in  reproach,  and  as  having  a  special  bearing  on  my  sub« 
ject.  Now,  my  friends,  the  slaves  that  Oxford  and  Cambridge 
thus  create,  have  heads  and  hearts  like  their  neighbors.  Apart 
from  their  bigotry  and  prejudice,  many  of  them  display  the 
greatest  acuteness,  the  profoundest  erudition,  the  keenest  sense 
of  honor,  the  warmest  benevolence.  It  is  an  atrocious  system 
which  renders  them  what  they  are,  and  dwarfs  so  deplorably 
their  moral  and  intellectual  stature.  Blame  them  we  cannot 
help  occasionally,  and  in  harsh  terms,  when  they  stand  so  ob« 
stinately  in  the  way  of  all  human  improvement ;  but  they  are 
still  more  to  be  pitied  than  blamed,  as  having  been,  from  earli- 
est childhood,  crushed  by  a  burden  of  formulas,  which  have 
gradually  grown  to  be  a  portion  of  themselves,  and  under  which 
they  can  only  move  with  a  tortoise  gait  and  at  a  tortoise  pace." 

The  sinister  motives  which  constitute  and  control  the  eccle- 
siastical establishments  of  England  are  easily  understood.  By 
national  education  is  simply  meant  the  training  up  proselytes 
to  her  church,  vassals  to  her  creed  ;  and,  if  so  be  their  shib- 
boleth be  constantly  and  correctly  repeated,  as  they  hold  the 
children's  souls  in  the  way  of  salvation  and  servitude,  all  the 
ends  are  accomplished  about  which  any  real  interest  is  felt. 
But  we  have  not  so  learned  Christ.  We  believe  that  "  the  just 
shall  live  by  faith ; "  not  by  the  Thirty-nine  Articles,  not  by 
court  patronage,  not  by  the  favor  of  mitres,  nor  by  clinging  in 
base  subserviency  at  the  hem  of  bishops'  robes. 

This  leads  us  to  remark,  secondly,  that  the  subjugation  of  the 
church  of  Christ  to  the  control  of  episcopal  primacy,  requires 
18* 


210  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

the  training  and  agency  of  an  obsequious  priesthood.  Preach- 
ers, in  common  with  all  professional  men,  depend  mainly  for 
support  upon  the  good  will  of  others  ;  and,  whether  those  others 
be  few  or  many,  a  people  or  a  government,  a  church  or  a 
patron,  deacons  or  lords,  there  is  always  a  powerful  induce- 
ment to  accommodate  truth  to  vitiated  tastes.  Against  this  dan- 
ger, nothing  but  the  independency  of  both  churches  and  cler- 
gymen can  provide  a  sufficient  check.  If  each  congregation 
is  left  voluntarily  to  support  such  services  as  they  believe  to  be 
sincere  and  edifying,  no  danger  will  result ;  since,  however 
much  people  in  general  may  love  a  lie,  they  are  never  long 
disposed  to  pay  for  having  it  taught.  But,  if  men  ordinarily 
betray  a  disposition  to  make  the  truth  they  preach  coincide 
with  the  views  and  wishes  of  those  upon  whom  their  temporal 
comforts  depend,  then,  in  the  primatical  system,  this  kind  of 
danger  will  most  certainly  be  incurred.  Subservience  to  an 
individual  is  far  more  to  be  deprecated  than  subservience  to  a 
congregation.  For  this  reason,  pay  received  at  the  hands  of  a 
state,  or  sacred  functions  held  only  at  the  will  of  a  bishop,  will 
be  sure  to  work  the  most  disastrous  consequences.  Enslaved 
by  the  frigidity  and  formality  of  an  artificial  and  conventional 
existence,  the  sworn  parasite  of  power  will  be  content  to  move 
in  the  petty  and  monotonous  round  of  a  despotic  etiquette, 
squandering  his  modicum  of  intellect  and  God's  precious  leg- 
acy of  time  on  matters  all  unworthy  of  a  teacher  of  free  and 
immortal  truth.  So  long  as  he  sits  at  the  table  of  an  earthly 
patron,  or  crouches  at  his  feet,  with  an  eye  to  future  prefer- 
ment, and  with  all  his  interests  indissolubly  linked  with  "  things 
as  they  are,'1  right  or  wrong,  he  will  be  expected  to  gloss  over 
fashionable  vices,  debase  the  spirituality  of  the  gospel,  preach 
the  divine  right  of  kings  and  bishops,  the  virtue  of  passive  obe- 
dience, the  efficacy  of  sacraments,  and  the  exclusive  preten- 
sions of  that  priesthood  of  which  he  claims  to  be  a  member,  in 
spite  of  his  boasted  independence  of  his  flock. 

The  tendency  of  primatical  religion  is  the  same  wherever  it 
is  allowed  to  preponderate,  the  legitimate  character  of  which 


THE    CHURCH   WITHOUT    A    BISHOP.  211 

is  seen  most  clearly  displayed  in  the  chief  kingdom  of  its 
source.  There,  according  to  the  highest  authority,  only  such 
gentlemen  as  are  educated  at  Oxford  and  Cambridge,  in  the 
dead  languages  and  exact  sciences,  with  a  quantum  sufficit  of 
spirited  irregularities,  are  divinely  commissioned  to  supersede 
human  reason  and  common  sense  in  religious  affairs.  These 
extraordinary  men  attain  their  heavenly  attributes  by  the  rite 
of  Episcopal  ordination ;  by  the  sublime  privilege  of  having 
laid  upon  their  head  the  hands  of  some  other  member  of  their 
class,  who  has  been  fortunate  enough  to  have  been  promoted 
by  the  prime  minister  of  the  day  to  a  vacant  see  ;  which  inef- 
fable blessing  fuses  down,  by  some  mysterious  agency,  all  the 
crude  materials  which  pedantic  tutors  have  crammed  into  their 
brains,  and  converts  them  into  that  species  of  supernal  wisdom 
which  is  entitled,  by  its  own  superiority,  to  treat  all  common 
wisdom  and  saintship  as  mere  surplusage  —  infinitely  contempt- 
ible in  the  presence  of  those  whom  the  premier  of  the  British 
lion,  and  his  jackal,  the  bishop,  have  dovetailed  into  "  the  reg- 
ular apostolic  succession."  By  such  means,  the  souPs  freedom 
is  subverted,  rather  than  sustained  ;  and  religion  appears  before 
the  world  as  a  miserable  monopoly  of  priests,  conferring  on 
man  a  right  to  dictate  to  his  fellows,  instead  of  inspiring  in  all 
alacrity  to  sympathize  with  and  succor  each ;  treating  Chris- 
tianity as  if  designed  expressly  to  be  an  instrument  by  which 
the  few  may  awe  the  many  into  abject  servitude,  and  not  as  the 
lawful  property  of  every  human,  being,  the  great  boon  given  to 
make  cheerful  and  happy  every  immortal  mind.  It  is  not 
strange  that  reflecting  persons  look  on  with  disgust,  when,  by  a 
round  of  formal  prayers  and  empty  rites,  attempts  are  made 
to  propitiate  God,  and  fawning  the  most  abject  pervades  all 
ranks  of  an  arbitrarily-graduated  priesthood,  from  the  humblest 
candidate  to  the  highest  functionary.  It  is  painful,  in  this 
enlightened  age,  to  see  those  who  enjoy  the  privileges  of  a  (so 
called)  liberal  education,  and  whose  knowledge,  sympathies,  and 
aspirations,  should  raise  them  far  above  the  meagre  and  con- 
tracted region  of  factious  strife  and  bigoted  antagonism,  yet 


212  REPUBLICAN   CHRISTIANITY. 

condescend  to  yield  their  manly  neck  to  the  yoke,  and  their 
luminous  brow  to  the  brand  of  a  petty  and  dwarfing  thraldom, 
which  the  accident  of  birth  or  station  has  created.  Jesus 
Christ  never  established  such  dictatorship  amongst  his  primitive 
disciples,  nor  do  we  believe  that  it  is  desired,  or  will  long  be 
endured,  by  the  progressive  piety  of  modern  times.  On  the 
contrary,  we  believe  that  few  things  are  regarded  with  such 
unqualified  abhorrence,  by  the  masses  of  the  people,  as  the 
iniquitous  influence  of  this  system  and  its  oppressive  results. 

"  A  hundred  humble  pastors  starve, 
While  one  or  two,  impalaced,  mitred,  throned, 
And  banqueted,  burlesque,  if  not  blaspheme, 
The  holy  penury  of  the  Son  of  God ; 
The  fastings,  the  foot-wanderings,  and  the  preachings, 
Of  Christ  and  his  first  followers." 

Under  this  general  division  of  our  subject,  we  are  noticing 
some  of  the  forms  of  primatical  or  episcopal  religion  which 
violate  the  simplicity  of  the  original  institutions  of  Christ.  We 
have  mentioned  two,  and  it  remains  to  describe  a  still  worse 
feature,  viz.,  the  process  by  which  it  rivets  the  worst  bonds 
upon  the  popular  mind.  Many  of  the  best  writers  in  Europe 
are  not  insensible  to  the  importance  of  this  subject.  Says  an 
able  contributor  to  the  Edinburgh  Review,  of  August,  1820, — 

"  The  '  alliance  of  church  and  state,'  when  rightly  inter- 
preted, seems  to  mean  merely  the  alliance  of  the  majority  with 
the  majority,  in  order  to  keep  down  the  minority  —  which  does 
not  appear  either  to  be  a  very  just  or  a  very  necessary  measure. 
And,  accordingly,  the  doctrine  of  this  famous  alliance,  which 
was  at  one  time  crammed  down  our  throats  with  so  much  vigor, 
and  which  some  persons  seem  sufficiently  disposed  to  revive 
at  the  present  moment,  has  been  so  generally  discredited  of 
late  years,  that  it  may  fairly  be  considered  as  abandoned  by 
all  the  temperate  and  enlightened  advocates  of  the  establish- 
ment. Dr.  Paley,  for  example,  has  stated  unequivocally,  that 
to  '  make  of  the  church  an  engine  or  even  an  ally  of  the  state, 
serves  only  to  debase  the  institution  ; '  and  that '  the  single  end 


THE    CHURCH   WITHOUT    A   BISHOP.  213 

we  ought  to  propose,  by  an  ecclesiastical  establishment,  is  the 
preservation  and  communication  of  religious  knowledge.'  And 
to  the  same  purpose  Mr.  Burke,  in  terms  still  more  direct  and 
decided  :  '  An  alliance,'  says  he,  c  between  church  and  state, 
in  a  Christian  commonwealth,  is,  in  my  opinion,  an  idle  and  a 
fanciful  speculation.  An  alliance  is  between  two  things  that 
are  in  their  nature  distinct  and  independent,  such  as  between 
two  sovereign  states ;  but,  in  a  Christian  commonwealth,  the 
church  and  the  state  are  one  and  the  same  thing.'  To  us, 
indeed,  it  appears  more  like  a  burlesque  upon  government  than 
any  thing  else,  to  say  that  the  only  way  to  secure  the  excel- 
lence of  any  political  institution  is  to  connect  it  with  a  corpora- 
tion of  priests,  dependent  upon  it  by  their  interests,  and  conse- 
quently bound,  as  far  as  interest  is  concerned,  to  support  it 
when  it  invades  the  rights  of  the  people  as  well  as  when  it  pro- 
tects them." 

Milton,  in  his  "  Reason  of  Church  Government  urged 
against  Prelacy,"  chap,  iii.,  says,  with  forcible  pertinency  to 
this  point, — 

"  When  the  church,  without  temporal  support,  is  able  to  do 
her  great  works  upon  the  unforced  obedience  of  man,  it  argues 
a  divinity  about  her.  But  when  she  thinks  to  credit  and  better 
her  spiritual  efficacy,  and  to  win  herself  respect  and  dread,  by 
strutting  in  the  false  vizard  of  worldly  authority,  it  is  evident 
that  God  is  not  there,  but  that  her  apostolic  virtue  is  departed 
from  her,  and  hath  left  her  key-cold  ;  which  she  perceiving,  as 
in  a  decayed  nature,  seeks  to  the  outward  fermentations  and 
chafings  of  worldly  help  and  external  nourishes,  to  fetch,  if  it 
be  possible,  some  motion  into  her  extreme  parts,  or  to  hatch  a 
counterfeit  life  with  the  crafty  and  artificial  heat  of  jurisdiction. 
But  it  is  observable,  that  so  long  as  the  church,  in  true  imitation 
of  Christ,  can  be  content  to  ride  upon  an  ass,  carrying  herself 
and  her  government  along  in  a  mean  and  simple  guise,  she 
may  be,  as  he  is,  a  Lion  of  the  tribe  of  Judah,  and,  in  her 
humility,  all  men,  with  loud  hosannas,  will  confess  her  great- 
ness.    But  when,  despising  the  mighty  operation  of  the  Spirit 


214  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

by  the  weak  things  of  this  world,  she  thinks  to  make  herself 
bigger  and  more  considerable  by  using  the  way  of  civil  force 
and  jurisdiction,  as  she  sits  upon  this  Lion,  she  changes  into 
an  Ass,  and  instead  of  hosannas,  every  man  pelts  her  with 
stones  and  dirt."  This  great  and  good  man  knew  that  what- 
ever is  binding  upon  us  as  Christians,  whatever  is  essential  to  a 
Christian  church,  must  be  recorded  in  the  New  Testament ;  if 
it  be  not  there,  the  assumption  of  divine  right  is  false.  He 
knew  that  the  whole  fabric  of  jure  dwino  Episcopacy  is  built 
upon  dubious  sophisms  derived  from  the  (so  called)  fathers, 
instead  of  the  explicit  directions  of  Christ  and  the  apostles  ; 
hence  his  distrust  of  those  corrupters  of  the  middle  ages  whom 
in  the  following  manner  he  has  characterized:  "Whatever 
time,  or  the  heedless  hand  of  blind  chance,  hath  drawn  from 
old  to  this  present,  in  her  huge  drag-net,  whether  fish  or  sea- 
weed, shell  or  shrubs,  unpicked,  unchosen,  those  are  the  fa- 
thers." Milton  was  too  much  of  a  republican  and  sincere  Chris- 
tian, to  abandon  the  Scriptures,  and  swear  allegiance  to  man  on 
the  authority  of  these  exceedingly  fallible  fathers,  whom  he 
calls  "  a  fog  of  witnesses." 

The  architect  of  prelatical  religion  succeeds  only  by  destroy- 
ing the  temples  of  freedom  and  revelation.  The  physician  of 
the  soul  thus  contrives  to  live  by  the  death  of  the  body.  Brit- 
ish Christianity  has  long  been  petrified  by  the  Gorgon  head  of 
frightful  worldliness.  By  the  act  of  supremacy,  Henry  VIII. 
became  as  truly  pope  in  England,  as  Clement  VII.  had  previ- 
ously been.  He  claimed  the  right  to  regulate  the  church  as 
seemed  good  in  his  own  eyes ;  and  his  parliaments  sanctioned 
that  claim.  The  successors  of  Henry,  with  the  crown,  inher- 
ited also  the  headship  of  the  church  of  England.  At  present, 
the  "  supreme  head  "  is  a  gay  woman,  who  "  convenes,  pro- 
rogues, restrains,  regulates  and  dissolves  all  synods  and  eccle- 
siastical convocations ; "  for,  though  there  is  the  formality  of 
an  election  of  these  functionaries  by  the  deans  and  chapters 
of  their  respective  dioceses,  yet  this  is  authorized  only 
by  what  is  called  a   conge  (Vel'ire,   or   permission   to   elect, 


THE    CHURCH   WITHOUT   A   BISHOP.  215 

which  is  accompanied  by  a  nomination  of  the  person  to  be 
elected. 

Says  Dr.  Cheever,  "  Episcopalianism  becomes  Popery  in 
essence,  when  it  takes  to  its  bosom  the  apostolical  succession. 
Its  priests  assert  that  every  thing  is  in  their  hands,  that  baptism 
is  regeneration,  that  there  is  no  regeneration  without  it,  and 
that  there  is  no  baptism  except  through  a  prelatical  bishop.  If 
you  enter  the  prison  of  such  a  system,  it  will  make  you  do  as 
it  pleases.  Its  monopoly  cannot  be  broken.  You  dare  not  go 
elsewhere,  for  salvation  is  only  within  its  walls.  Let  its  rules 
be  ever  so  rigid,  you  are  obliged  to  abide  by  them  ;  it  may  tax 
you  to  its  heart's  content,  but  if  there  is  no  salvation  out  of  its 
ordinances,  what  are  you  to  do?  It  may  take  away  all  your 
liberties,  but  if  it  holds  the  key  of  your  salvation,  you  are  a 
helpless  victim,  and  cannot  stir.  Once  give  to  the  system  of 
Episcopalianism  the  claims  which  the  apostolical  successionists 
are  advancing,  and  you  have  a  perfect  spiritual  despotism,  quite 
as  remorseless  as  Popery  itself. 

"  Whether  these  odious  pretensions  are  rightly  attributed  to 
Episcopalians  as  a  body  in  this  country,  we  do  not  undertake 
to  decide ;  but  they  are  the  pretensions  of  those  who  love  the 
preeminence,  and  who  possess  it,  to  a  degree,  in  their  conven- 
tions, and  in  their  metropolitan  royalties.  And  those  who  do 
not  side  with  these  dignitaries,  will  nevertheless  have  to  bear 
the  reproach  of  such  pretensions,  unless  they  plainly  disavow 
and  resist  them,  and  are  willing  to  make  some  effort  to  reform 
their  church  of  them.  Whatever  persons  in  the  church  do 
not,  so  far  as  they  may  be  able,  oppose  these  injurious  maxims 
and  practices,  they  are  themselves  partakers  in  the  ungodliness 
of  that  zeal  which  was  marked  of  the  apostle  John  in  the  case 
of  Diotrephes,  who  loveth  the  preeminence  and  casteth  us  out 
of  the  church." 

The  church  of  Rome  fulminates  her  thunders  clear  and  loud, 
—  every  heretic  accursed  ! 

The  Episcopacy,  which  is  only  Papacy  diluted,  with  subdued 
arrogance  imitates  the  same  thunders.     There  is  no  church  but 


216  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

our  church  ;  no  true  ministry,  nor  any  regular  salvation,  out  of 
it !  Even  in  this  country,  where  all  sects  are  indebted  to  the 
Puritans  in  general,  and  to  Roger  Williams  in  particular,  for 
religious  liberty,  this  small  sect  swells  into  a  puny  resemblance 
to  their  mother  across  the  sea,  and  talks  of  dissenters  with  ill- 
disguised  contempt.  Can  any  thing  be  more  absurd  ?  The 
church  of  England,  and  her  offshoot  in  this  country,  have  no 
better  claim  to  be  denominated  Protestant  than  the  "  dissenting 
bodies,"  whom  they  charitably  place  beyond  the  pale  of  Chris- 
tianity. It  was  not  an  act  of  the  British  church,  by  any  means, 
that  first  caused  the  application  of  the  term  Protestants  to  the 
supporters  of  the  reformation.  The  term  arose  from  the  six 
Lutheran  princes,  at  the  diet  of  Spire,  in  Bavaria,  in  1529,  who 
solemnly  protested  against  a  decree  of  Ferdinand  of  Austria, 
and  other  Popish  princes,  abridging  their  religious  rights. 
Hence  the  name  of  Protestants  was  first  applied  to  the  follow- 
ers of  Luther.  But  it  was  not  confined  to  them.  "  It  soon 
after  included  the  Calvinists,  and  has  now  of  a  long  time  been 
applied  generally  to  the  Christian  sects,  of  whatever  denomi- 
nation, and  in  whatever  country  they  may  be  found,  which 
have  separated  from  the  see  of  Rome." 

In  the  gospel,  divine  worship  is  a  truth  of  fact,  of  practice, 
and  of  sentiment,  every  where  prescribed,  but  no  where  re- 
stricted ;  it  remains  free  as  to  its  forms,  its  language,  and  its 
place.  The  New  Testament  does  not  arrogantly  dogmatize, 
but  lovingly  instruct ;  does  not  enumerate  decretals  to  excite 
strife,  nor  rouse  enmities  by  coercing  conviction ;  it  every 
where  inculcates  one  firm,  uniform,  consolatory,  and  saving 
faith,  a  sufficient  guide  and  support  in  life  and  death,  which 
faith  is  not  the  arbitrary  result  of  a  human  creed,  but  the  legit- 
imate fruit  of  free  investigation  of  the  inspired  word.  Dictat- 
ing to  man  how  he  shall  worship  God,  is  dictating  to  God  how 
he  shall  be  worshipped  —  prescribing  what  kind  of  prayer  and 
praise  he  shall  receive.  Unfortunately  quite  too  much  of  this 
is  done. 

The  oppression  which  the  people  suffer  under  compulsory 


THE    CHURCH    WITHOUT    A    BISHOP.  217 

bisohprics  is  twofold  —  pecuniary  and  spiritual.  We  now  are 
speaking  of  the  first  of  these,  and  the  iniquitous  means  by 
which  it  is  maintained.  To  the  archbishop  of  Canterbury  a 
yearly  revenue  is  allowed  of  .£19,182,  or  $85,168  ;  and 
to  the  archbishop  of  York,  ,£12,629,  or  $56,072:  making 
a  sum  total  of  one  hundred  and  forty -one  thousand  two  hun- 
dred and  forty  dollars  annually,  for  two  ornamental  digni- 
taries of  the  only  scriptural  church !  Beside  these,  there 
are  some  five  and  twenty  bishops,  the  direct  successors  of  the 
apostles,  and  who  receive  their  authority  as  well  as  dignity 
from  Him  who  had  not  where  to  lay  his  head,  and  to  support 
whom,  the  people  must  pay  annually  no  less  than^re  hundred 
and  seventy  thousand  four  hundred  and  fifty-five  dollars.  The 
amount  appropriated  yearly  to  the  twenty-eight  deans  and 
chapters  is  one  million  two  hundred  and  sixty-two  thousand 
and  thirty  dollars ;  to  the  support  of  other  ecclesiastical  ranks 
in  the  establishment,  sixteen  and  a  half  millions  of  dollars ; 
making  the  gross  annual  expenditure,  including  the  branches 
in  Ireland  and  Wales,  more  than  Twenty  Millions  of  Dol- 
lars, which  the  industrious  classes  have  to  pay  from  their  own 
pockets  to  keep  themselves  in  bonds.  The  English  Episcopal 
church  is  indeed,  as  they  modestly  call  themselves,  "the  Won- 
der of  Christendom"  but  whom  Lord  Chatham  more  justly 
characterized  as  having  "  a  Popish  liturgy,  a  Calvinistic  creed, 
and  an  Arminian  clergy." 

The  chief  means  of  raising  this  enormous  revenue  is  by 
cheating  the  popular  mind  with  the  idea  that  bishops  are  sacred 
personages  invested  with  all  but  divine  authority.  The  word 
apostle  is  prominent  in  the  Bible,  and  is  most  sacred  in  its  asso- 
ciations, but  the  general  masses  of  the  people  have  not  learned 
the  simple  fact,  that  it  only  means  sent,  and  is  never  a  term 
signifying  office,  except  when  applied  to  the  original  twelve, 
and  to  Paul,  who  was  also  called  and  sent  by  our  Lord  per- 
sonally, though  after  his  ascension.  "This  is  evident  from  the 
manner  in  which  the  word  is  used  in  2  Cor.  viii.  23  —  'or  our 
brethren  be  inquired  of,  they  are  the  messengers  [apostles]  of 
19 


218  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

the  churches,  and  the  glory  of  Christ'  ;  and  in  Phil.  ii.  25  — 
'  Epaphroditus,  my  brother  and  companion  in  labor,  and  fellow- 
soldier,  but  your  messenger,  [apostle.]'  The  apostles,  there- 
fore, neither  had,  nor  could  have,  any  successors  in  office, 
since  each  must  be  appointed  by  our  Lord  personally  ;  their 
apostleship  ceased  with  their  lives,  and  contained  in  it  no  war- 
rant for  appointing  nor  for  ordaining  successors,  nor  made  any 
provision  for  transmitting  or  perpetuating  the  apostolic  office. 
They  were  not  officers  in,  or  of,  any  church  ;  they  do  not  in 
their  official  epistles  style  themselves  the  apostles  or  bishops  of 
any  church,  or  churches,  or  diocese,  nor  '  Right  Reverend 
Father  in  God,'  but  simply  '  apostle  of  Jesus  Christ,'  and  '  ser- 
vant of  Jesus  Christ.'  They  never  appoint  any  one  to  office, 
nor  interfere  with  the  internal  affairs  of  any  church,  but  simply 
assert  their  right  to  declare  the  infallible  will  of  Christ,  as  his 
inspired  messengers,  requiring  obedience  of  faith  from  all  in 
every  age,  whether  bishops,  deacons,  or  private  Christians." 
The  justness  of  the  above  statement,  quoted  from  Mr.  Crowell, 
is  sustained  by  what  the  most  intelligent  member  of  the  Epis- 
copal hierarchy,  Bishop  Whately,  has  affirmed  in  the  following 
words :  "  Successors  in  the  apostolic  office  the  apostles  have 
none.  As  witnesses  of  the  resurrection,  as  dispensers  of 
miraculous  gifts,  as  inspired  oracles  of  divine  revelation,  they 
have  no  successors.  But  as  members,  as  ministers,  as  govern- 
ors, of  Christian  communities,  their  successors  are  the  regu- 
larly admitted  members,  the  lawfully  ordained  ministers,  the 
regular  and  recognized  governors  of  a  regularly  subsisting 
Christian  church."  This  is  putting  the  matter  on  the  true 
ground  of  scriptural  equality  among  the  disciples  of  Christ  —  a 
position  very  unlike  that  which  in  church  and  state  establish- 
ments is  almost  universally  assumed.  If  it  were  necessary  to 
say  any  thing  more  respecting  the  true  character  and  appro- 
priate functions  of  bishops,  we  have  only  to  add  what  Mosheim 
says,  vol.  i.  p.  85  :  "  Whoever  supposes  that  the  bishops  of 
the  first  and  golden  age  of  the  church  corresponded  with  the 
bishops  of  the  following  centuries,  must  blend  and  confound 


THE    CHURCH   WITHOUT    A    BISHOP.  219 

characters  that  are  very  different.  For  in  this  century  and  the 
next,  a  bishop  had  charge  of  a  single  church,  which  might 
ordinarily  be  contained  in  a  private  house  ;  nor  was  he  its  lord, 
but  was  in  reality  its  minister  or  servant. ;  he  instructed  the 
people,  conducted  all  parts  of  public  worship,  and  attended  on 
the  sick  and  the  necessitous  in  person ;  and  what  he  was  una- 
ble thus  to  perform,  he  committed  to  the  care  of  the  presbyters, 
(elders,)  but  without  the  power  to  ordain  or  determine  any 
thing,  except  with  the  concurrence  of  the  presbyters  and  the 
brotherhood." 

Another  means  by  which  Episcopal  hierarchs  win  and  main- 
tain authority  over  the  masses  is  by  imposing  upon  them  big- 
oted and  dwarfing  creeds.  The  Bible  is  the  freest  and  most 
ennobling  book  ever  written,  heaven  wide  from  those  pinching 
compendiums  which  ecclesiastical  craft  has  invented  to  abridge 
the  natural  prerogatives  of  the  soul,  and  mould  it  into  subser- 
viency to  their  selfish  schemes.  It  is  most  deplorable  to  observe 
how  long  and  how  sadly  our  holy  Christianity  has  been  do- 
formed,  degraded,  and  disgraced,  by  being  subordinated  to  that 
remorseless  lust  of  power,  and  insatiate  thirst  for  gain,  which 
labors  toward  the  inthralment  of  mankind,  rather  than  to 
enlighten  and  set  them  free.  Who  strives  to  dim  the  glare  of 
outward  distinction,  and  disabuse  the  world  of  those  prejudices 
which  caste  and  rank  have  created  ?  Shall  we  never  estimate 
man  above  his  wardrobe  or  his  title,  nor  understand  that  to  be 
a  Christian  is  to  be  a  philanthropist ;  that,  in  fact,  the  very 
essence  of  Christianity  shows  itself  in  a  consecration  to  the 
welfare  of  all  mankind  ? 

The  degrading  influence  we  deprecate  spreads  itself  through 
all  gradations  of  society  where  it  is  found,  from  the  highest  to 
the  lowest.  In  the  House  of  Lords,  Lord  King  one  day  in- 
quired of  Bishop  Horsley  what  was  the  meaning  of  "  ortho- 
doxy "  and  "heterodoxy."  "My  lord,"  replied  the  bishop, 
"  orthodoxy  is  my  doxy,  and  heterodoxy  is  another  man's 
doxy."  This  is  the  language  of  a  theological  slave ;  but  to 
the  man  who  in  a  Christian  spirit  really  respects  human  nature, 


220  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

every  other  opinion  is  as  orthodox  as  his  own,  however  much 
they  may  differ.  Like  the  engineer,  who  imagined  all  rivers 
to  have  been  created  exclusively  for  the  purpose  of  feeding 
canals,  so  these  bishops  act  on  the  principle  that  the  ultimate 
object  of  revealed  truth  is,  to  facilitate  the  success  of  their 
particular  system  —  to  invest  them  with  artificial  sanctions, 
without  which  they  would  find  it  difficult  to  play  their  part,  and 
to  dispose  dupes  to  unlimited  submission,  which  they  account 
the  highest  style  of  personal  and  social  virtue.  Hence  all  the 
force  of  religious  artifice  is  employed  to  bolster  up  their  indo- 
lent dignity,  and  compel  the  people,  out  of  their  hard  earnings, 
to  pay  the  expense  without  complaint.  This  scheme  is  not 
original,  though  it  is  certainly  very  oppressive.  The  chief 
priests  and  Pharisees  of  a  former  church  were  not  less  positive, 
certainly  not  more  puerile  in  their  assertions  of  self-importance, 
than  these ;  and  the  world  knows  both  their  wrong  estimate 
of  themselves  and  their  despotic  rule  over  others.  True,  there 
was  not  the  slightest  flaw  in  the  chain  of  their  succession,  and 
yet  we  do  not  find  them  commended  for  having  taken  away 
from  the  people  "  the  key  of  knowledge."  The  nations,  there- 
fore, are  beginning  to  think  that  the  human  understanding  and 
heart  were  given  for  some  higher  purpose  than  to  be  made 
blind  tools  in  the  hands  of  such  a  regularly  ordained  and  apos- 
tolical clergy.  This  kind  of  popular  apprehension  is  quick- 
ened, among  other  means,  by  frequently  seeing  inserted  in  the 
public  prints  that  a  living  is  or  will  be  vacant ;  inviting  special 
notice  to  the  fact  that  the  said  living  is  in  a  fine  sporting  coun- 
try—  that  the  present  incumbent  is  quite  old,  and  rather  given 
to  be  apoplectic.  But  the  most  notorious  and  exasperating 
fact  is,  that  where  the  seats  of  the  squirearchy  most  thickly 
stud  the  land,  where  established  churches  are  most  numerous, 
and  clerical  magistrates  most  abound,  there,  usually,  ignorance 
and  demoralization  are  most  marked  ;  and  there  the  zeal  of 
pious  and  patriotic  dissenters  is  most  opposed.  The  same 
influence  which  produces  the  evil,  prevents  the  good  ;  and  the 
consequences  of  aristocratic  vices,  fortified  by  Episcopal  intol- 


THE    CHURCH   WITHOUT   A   BISHOP.  221 

erance,  are  permitted  to  darken  the  fairest  auspices  of  human 
progress.  It  is  not  in  God  or  man  much  longer  to  allow  this 
tyranny  to  subsist. 

We  have  shown  that  bishops  are  not  essential  to  constitute 
a  church,  and  were  never  designed  to  exercise  lordship  over 
equals  in  Christ :  it  remains  to  state  that,  — 

Thirdly,  they  are  no  longer  needed  to  oppress  the  sacred 
brotherhood.  Our  preceding  remarks  relate  chiefly  to  the  tyr- 
anny of  Episcopacy,  as  it  is  felt  by  the  people  in  common  ; 
but  we  now  refer  to  the  injustice  inflicted  by  this  system  on 
Christians  of  every  name  in  particular.  There  are  a  good 
many  persons  who  are  disposed  to  call  their  souls  their  own, 
and  to  judge,  in  relation  to  their  spiritual  welfare,  for  themselves. 
The  fundamental  principle  with  them  is,  that  the  religion  of 
Christ  ought  to  be  left  to  make  its  way  among  mankind  in  the 
greatest  possible  simplicity,  by  its  own  truth  and  excellence, 
through  the  labors  of  pious,  voluntary,  and  free  advocates,  pre- 
sided over  by  its  great  Author  alone.  They  think  that  true 
religion  cannot,  without  fatal  injury  to  the  primitive  purity  of  a 
"  kingdom  not  of  this  world,"  be  subordinated  to  the  political 
arrangements  of  monarchs  and  statesmen,  and  blended  insep- 
arably with  secular  interests  and  clerical  intrigues,  the  most 
ambitious  and  degrading  passions.  When  religious  authority 
is  vested  in  an  individual,  it  assumes  the  papal,  primatical,  or 
episcopal  form,  identical  in  character,  and  in  influence  every 
where  the  same.  Whether  it  be  wedded  to  sceptres  and  cor- 
onets, an  engine  acted  on  by  state  corruptions  to  crush  strug- 
gling subjects,  or  develop  its  arrogance  through  domineering- 
bishops  and  secret  conclaves  in  a  country  where  the  sanctions 
of  legalized  oppression  have  been  wrested  from  its  greedy 
grasp,  the  fervor  of  high  church  aspirations  after  absolute  dic- 
tation in  theological  affairs,  should  tend  constantly  to  intensify 
the  detestation  of  freemen  towards  hierarchies  of  all  forms 
and  ecclesiastical  combinations  of  every  name.  No  religious 
organizations  in  this  country,  or  any  other,  stand  strictly  on 
apostolic  ground,  except  those  whose  principles,  ordinances,  and 
19* 


222  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

polity  are  the  same  as  those  of  the  primitive  churches.  These 
only  are  in  harmony  at  once  with  the  principles  of  Christianity  : 
and  the  genius  of  all  institutions  which  adorn,  as  well  as  fortify, 
a  republic,  are  most  favorable  to  the  cultivation  of  personal 
virtues,  and  possess  the  only  real  claim  on  the  regard  of  repub- 
licans. "  Where  one  particular  priesthood  has  rank  in  the 
state,  others  are  not  free ;  and  where  they  all  have,  the  people 
are  not  free.  So  far  as  the  ceremonies  of  one  particular  faith 
are  connected  with  filling  any  particular  occupation,  entering 
into  the  relations,  or  enjoying  any  of  the  advantages,  of  civil 
life,  there  is  not  religious  liberty.  It  is  a  fallacious  distinction 
which  has  sometimes  been  drawn,  that  a  state  may  patronize, 
though  it  should  not  punish.  A  government  cannot  patronize 
one  particular  religion  without  punishing  others.  A  state  has  no 
wealth  but  the  people's  wealth;  if  it  pay  some,  it  impoverishes 
others.  A  state  is  no  fountain  of  honor.  If  it  declare  one  class 
free,  it  thereby  declares  others  slaves.  If  it  declares  some  noble, 
it  thereby  declares  others  ignoble.  Whenever  bestowed  with 
partiality,  its  generosity  is  injustice,  and  its  favor  is  oppression." 
It  has  ever  been  the  ambition  of  false  religions  to  employ 
solemn  and  hypocritical  attempts  to  drain  the  multitude  for 
the  benefit  of  priestly  aristocracies  and  the  defence  of  regal 
wrongs.  The  most  flagrant  instance  of  this  feudal  barbarity 
now  extant  flourishes  around  the  head -quarters  of  Episcopacy 
in  England.  There,  as  Robert  Hall  has  said,  "  in  theory,  the 
several  orders  of  the  state  are  a  check  on  each  other  ;  but 
corruption  has  oiled  the  wheels  of  that  machinery,  harmonized 
its  motions,  and  enabled  it  to  bear,  with  united  pressure,  on  the 
happiness  of  the  people."  But  such  a  state  of  things  cannot 
be  long  endured.  For,  as  the  same  distinguished  advocate 
of  English  freedom  remarks,  "to  invest  idleness  and  dissi- 
pation with  the  privileges  of  laborious  piety  is  an  impracticable 
attempt.  For  by  a  constitution  more  ancient  than  that  of  any 
priesthood,  superior  degrees  of  sanctity  and  of  exertion  will 
gain  superior  esteem  as  their  natural  reward.  We  must  not 
wonder  to  find  the  public  forget  the  reverence    ue  to  the  sacred 


THE    CHURCH   WITHOUT    A   BISHOP.  223 

profession,  when  its  members  forget  the  spirit  and  neglect  the 
duties  on  which  that  reverence  was  founded.  The  natural 
equity  of  mankind  will  not  suffer  the  monopoly  of  contradic- 
tory goods.  If  the  people  are  expected  to  reverence  an  order, 
it  must  be  from  the  consciousness  of  benefits  received.  If  the 
clergy  claim  authority,  it  must  be  accompanied  with  a  solici- 
tude *br  the  spiritual  interest  of  their  flocks,  and  labor  sus- 
tained. To  enjoy  at  once  both  honor  and  ease  never  fell  to 
the  share  of  any  profession.  If  the  clergy  neglect  their  charge, 
if  they  conform  to  the  spirit  of  the  world,  and  engage  with 
eagerness  in  the  pursuits  of  ambition  or  of  pleasure,  it  will  be 
impossible  for  any  human  policy  to  preserve  them  from  sink- 
ing in  the  public  esteem." 

It  is  pitiable  indeed  to  see  a  bench  of  bishops  conspiring 
with  tyrannical  lords  of  the  secular  orders  against  the  popular 
desire  for  liberty  already  too  strong  to  be  overcome,  and  which 
is  constantly  on  the  increase.  How  vain  and  futile  the  effort, 
in  this  nineteenth  century,  to  interpose  bayonets  before  the 
progress  of  free  principles,  —  the  prerogatives  of  supercilious 
rank  and  sanctimonious  presumption,  as  barriers  in  that  path 
which  conducts  to  the  wider  area  and  loftier  privileges  in 
reserve  for  mankind !  "  The  pope  eats  the  grain,  we  the 
straw,"  said  Luther.  But  millions  of  Christians  are,  even  in 
this  enlightened  age,  worse  conditioned.  They  are  obliged  to 
assist  in  supporting  a  pompous  show  of  religion,  which  they 
abhor,  and  yet,  out  of  the  scanty  resources  that  remain,  pro- 
vide preaching  more  genial  to  honest  piety  and  the  word  of 
God.  Milton  told  splendid  u  hirelings,"  long  ago,  that  "  forced 
consecrations  out  of  another  man's  estate  are  no  better  than 
forced  vows,  hateful  to  God,  who  '  loves  a  cheerful  giver  ; '  but 
much  more  hateful  wrung  out  of  men's  purses  to  maintain  a 
disapproved  ministry  against  their  consciences." 

It  is  manifest,  that  God  never  purposed  to  bind  redemption 
to  forms,  fixed  and  inviolable ;  it  is  a  divine  kingdom  that 
u  cometh  not  with  observation,"  but  is  established  "  within  us," 
that  it  may  pass  freely  from  heart  to  heart,  through  all  ranks  and 


224  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

degrees  of  mankind.  By  this  independence  of  forms,  Chris- 
tianity admits  the  poorest  and  most  humble  to  rites  that  soothe 
and  doctrines  that  save  without  money  and  without  price.  The 
religion  of  Israel,  which  was  ceremonial  and  transient,  could 
not  exist  without  the  temple,  with  its  treasures,  its  vessels  of 
brass,  of  silver  and  gold  ;  hence,  when  the  sacred  vessels  em- 
ployed in  the  service  were  carried  away  to  Babylon,  the  whole 
was  removed.  But  pure  religion  borrows  nothing  from  worldly 
wealth  and  power ;  the  cross  of  wood  is  her  only  instrument 
given  to  conquer  the  world.  Devout  worshippers  of  gowns 
and  bands,  and  the  whole  round  of  ecclesiastical  mummery, 
are  only  attempting  to  revive  what  eighteen  hundred  years  ago 
became  obsolete.  Great  and  glorious  improvements  are  taking 
place  in  every  other  department  of  life ;  and  yet  what  do  we 
see  in  the  most  important  of  all  ?  Nations  are  calling  for  the 
word  of  life,  with  their  myriads  of  immortal  souls  in  danger 
of  eternal  death,  which  urgent  demands  must  be  set  aside  till 
bigots  shall  terminate  their  transcendental  controversies  on 
tapers,  bowings,  and  surplices,  —  till  they  shall  have  decided 
whether  the  salvation  of  the  world  depends  upon  their  having 
a  stone  altar  instead  of  a  wooden  one,  and  when  they  stand  up 
to  read  a  prayer,  whether  they  shall  face  the  east  or  west. 
The  directions  of  the  rubric  are  in  debate,  and  the  bishop  of 
Exeter,  for  one  among  the  spiritual  lords,  insists  upon  their 
observance  in  every  church  throughout  his  diocese,  whatever 
may  be  the  opposition  of  the  laity  assembled  in  town  and  parish 
meetings.  All  agitation  in  favor  of  greater  freedom  of  thought 
and  speech  is  suppressed  with  a  zeal  exceeded  only  by  the 
gross  and  brutal  outrages  which  are  frequently  committed  on 
the  most  sacred  feelings  of  humanity.  For  instance,  a  short 
time  since,  in  London,  the  body  of  a  child  was  brought  by  its 
parents  to  the  churchyard,  that  its  remains  might  rest  by  the 
side  of  its  brother  or  sister ;  but  the  weeping  parents  were 
rudely  repulsed  from  the  gate,  because  the  little  infant  had  not 
been  sprinkled  in  "  the  regular  apostolic  succession."  A  dis- 
senting preacher  is  not  allowed  to  bury  in  consecrated  ground. 


THE    CHURCH   WITHOUT   A   BISHOP.  225 

A  line  of  demarcation  is  set  up  among  the  dead,  as  every- 
where among  the  living.  His  father  may  have  been  buried 
there  if  he  was  a  member  of  the  church,  but  he  is  not  per- 
mitted to  lie  by  his  parent's  side  ;  at  least,  with  his  own  chosen 
minister  to  consign  him  to  the  grave  and  pray  over  his  body. 
It  is  this  same  bigoted  feeling  that  has  excluded  the  republican 
Cromwell's  statue  from  the  new  palace  of  legislation,  and  still 
more  recently  has  denied  the  statue  of  John  Wesley  a  place  in 
Westminster  Abbey.  It  is  the  more  remarkable  that  the  latter 
should  be  denied  Christian  honors,  since  he  lived  and  died  in 
the  establishment. 

As  the  great  mother  gives  the  word  beyond  the  sea,  her 
loyal  children,  with  apish  pretensions  to  infallibility,  repeat  the 
arrogance  among  ourselves.  But  the  end  draws  nigh.  Pri- 
matical  religion  is  death-struck  throughout  the  world,  and  no 
ostentatious  forms  can  vivify  it  with  spiritual  life,  nor  can  fine 
dresses  long  hide  its  putrescence.  The  decree  of  the  Omnipo- 
tent has  gone  forth,  that  the  will  of  one  or  a  few  shall  no 
longer  break  down  the  will,  the  heart,  and  conscience  of  the 
many.  The  religion  that  will  not  educate  and  bless  the  multi- 
tudes of  earth  is  doomed  speedily  to  be  extirpated  by  them. 
Episcopacy  has  always  and  every  where  been  as  tyrannical  as 
the  -spirit  of  the  age  would  permit ;  therefore  is  it  to  be  depre- 
cated as  anti-Christian  and  anti-republican.  It  tends  to  subvert 
all  true  religious  liberty,  and  all  political  freedom.  It  began 
by  removing  the  checks  and  guards  of  a  popular  government 
against  the  exercise  of  arbitrary  power.  It  invested  the 
bishops  with  prerogatives,  which  can  never  be  safely  intrusted 
to  any  man  or  body  of  men.  The  subsequent  history  of  this 
church  abundantly  confirms  the  position  that  popular  rights 
can  never  be  confided  to  the  hands  of  the  clergy  without 
detriment.  Says  Arnold,  one  of  the  most  magnanimous  and 
enlightened  of  the  English  Episcopacy,  "  To  revive  Christ's 
church  is  to  expel  the  Antichrist  of  the  priesthood,  which,  as  it 
was  foretold  of  him,  as  God,  sltteth  in  the  temple  of  God, 
showing  himself  that  he  is  God,  and  to  restore  its  disfranchised 


226  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

members,  the  laity,  to  the  discharge  of  their  proper  duties  in 
it,  and  to  the  consciousness  of  their  paramount  importance." 

Home  Tooke,  quoting  from  Christ's  words  to  Nicodemus, 
said,  "  Truth  is  that  which  a  man  troweth."  That  which 
another  man  thinks  is  as  true  to  him  as  what  I  think  is  true  to 
me.  This  right  and  duty,  resting  on  every  rational  creature  to 
examine  and  decide  for  himself,  was  the  first  lesson  inculcated 
by  Christ,  and  the  last  privilege  which  selfish  bishops  are  dis- 
posed to  grant.  The  patrons  of  ceremonialism  have  too  much 
mercenary  interest  in  their  hollow  rites  willingly  to  give  them 
up,  though  they  are  known  to  constitute  almost  invincible 
obstacles  to  the  inward  spiritual  life.  The  absurdities  of  the 
gloomiest  superstition  are  attempted  to  be  modified  in  our  day, 
not  for  the  better,  but  the  worse.  It  is  not  enough  that  the 
world  for  centuries  should  have  derived  its  principal  illumina- 
tion from  wax  lights,  fixed  on  iron  spikes,  before  pictures  ; 
while  its  most  substantial  nutriment  for  the  soul  was  derived 
from  the  sacrifice  of  the  mass  ;  not  as  the  Neo-Catholics  refine 
and  explain  it,  but  such  as  it  is  defined  by  the  council  of 
Trent  —  to  sacrifice  the  Lord  by  manducation  —  to  eat  and 
drink  the  Lord  God  himself;  or,  according  to  the  terms  of  the 
council,  in  "  his  flesh,  blood,  soul,  and  divinity."  The  happy 
period  has  arrived  when  high  Episcopacy,  insolent  and  insipid, 
reviving  the  faith  of  the  middle  ages  in  a  modern  dress,  would 
impose  on  us  the  carcass  of  defunct  Catholicity  without  a  par- 
ticle of  its  soul,  wax  tapers  lighted  up,  not  as  an  act  of  worship 
to  the  virgin,  but  to  gleam  on  moral  as  well  as  political  false- 
hoods designed  to  confuse  the  vision  and  enchain  the  under- 
standings of  mankind. 

Spiritual  truth  is  moral  force,  and  thought,  as  moral  force, 
is  spiritual  truth  in  action,  and  adoration ;  though  that  action 
is  most  often  revolution,  still  we  had  better  have  anarchy 
than  stupidity  —  the  heavings  of  the  ocean  rather  than  its 
stagnation.  A  great  human  or  divine  reality,  in  whatever 
garb  it  appears,  is  always  better  than  a  great  pretence  de- 
ceiving all,  itself  the  most  deceived.     What  the  world  most 


THE    CHURCH   WITHOUT   A    BISHOP.  227 

needs  is  truth  that  is  simple  and  energetic,  infinitely  nobler 
than  truth  ceremonial  and  sectarian.  Christianity  is  that  truth, 
the  sublime  ideal  that  Christ  conceived  and  nurtured  in  the 
profundity  of  his  breast,  to  be  breathed  abroad  freely  on  the 
aching  brows  and  sorrowing  hearts  of  all  mankind. 

Coleman,  in  his  "  Primitive  Church,"  sums  up  this  matter  as 
follows :  — 

"  Thus,  as  we  have  seen,  ecclesiastical  history  introduces 
first  to  our  notice  single  independent  churches  ;  then,  churches 
having  several  dependent  branches  ;  then,  diocesan  churches  ; 
then,  metropolitan  or  provincial  churches;  and  then,  national 
churches  attempered  to  the  civil  power.  In  the  end,  we  behold 
two  great  divisions  of  ecclesiastical  empire,  the  Eastern  and 
the  Western,  now  darkly  intriguing,  now  fearfully  struggling 
with  each  other  for  the  mastery,  until  at  last  the  doctrine  of  the 
unity  of  the  church  is  consummated  in  the  sovereignty  of  the 
pope  of  Rome,  who  alone  sits  enthroned  in  power,  claiming  to 
be  the  head  of  the  church  on  earth.  The  government  of  the 
church  was  at  first  a  democracy,  allowing  to  all  its  constituents 
the  most  enlarged  freedom  of  a  voluntary  religious  association. 
It  became  an  absolute  and  iron  despotism.  The  gradations  of 
ecclesiastical  organization  through  which  it  passed  were,  from 
congregational  to  parochial  —  parochial  to  diocesan  —  diocesan 
to  metropolitan — metropolitan  to  patriarchal  —  patriarchal  to 
papal. 

"  The  corruptions  and  abominations  of  the  church,  through 
that  long  night  of  darkness  which  succeeded  the  triumph  of 
the  pope  of  Rome,  were  inexpressibly  horrible.  The  record 
of  them  may  more  fitly  lie  shrouded  in  a  dead  language,  than 
be  disclosed  to  the  light  in  the  living  speech  of  men.  The 
successors  of  St.  Peter,  as  they  call  themselves,  were  frequent- 
ly nominated  to  the  chair  of  '  his  holiness '  by  women  of  in- 
famous and  abondoned  lives.  Not  a  few  of  them  were  shame- 
fully immoral ;  and  some,  monsters  of  wickedness.  Several 
were  heretics,  and  others  were  deposed  as  usurpers.  And 
yet  this  church  of  Rome,  '  with  such  ministers,  and  so  ap- 


228  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

pointed,  —  a  church  corrupt  in  every  part  and  every  particular, 
individually  and  collectively,  in  doctrine,  in  discipline,  in  prac- 
tice,'—  this  church,  prelacy  recognizes  as  the  only  representa- 
tive of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  in  the  period  now  under  consid- 
eration, invested  with  all  his  authority,  and  exercising  divine 
powers  on  earth  !  She  boasts  her  ordinances,  her  sacraments, 
transmitted,  for  a  thousand  years,  unimpaired  and  uncontami- 
nated,  through  such  hands  !  High  church  Episcopacy  proudly 
draws  her  own  apostolical  succession  through  this  pit  of  pollu- 
tion, and  then  the  followers  of  Christ,  who  care  not  to  receive 
such  grace  from  such  hands,  she  calmly  delivers  over  to  God's 
1  uncovenanted  mercies'!  Nay,  more,  multitudes  of  that 
communion  are  now  engaged  in  the  strange  work  of  '  unprot- 
estantizing  the  churches '  which  have  washed  themselves  from 
these  defilements.  The  strife  is  with  a  proud  array  of  talents, 
of  learning,  and  of  episcopal  power,  to  bury  all  spiritual  reli- 
gion again  in  the  grave  of  forms,  to  shroud  the  light  of  truth 
in  the  gloom  of  Popish  tradition,  and  to  sink  the  church  of  God 
once  more  into  that  abyss  of  deep  and  dreadful  darkness  from 
which  she  emerged  at  the  dawn  of  the  reformation.  In  the 
beautiful  and  expressive  language  of  Milton,  their  strife  is  to 
4  reinvolve  us  in  that  pitchy  cloud  of  infernal  darkness  where 
we  shall  never  more  see  the  sun  of  truth  again,  never  hope  for 
the  cheerful  dawn,  never  more  hear  the  bird  of  morning  sing.'  " 
—  pp.  312,313. 

Yes,  humanity  shall  behold  a  fairer  morn,  a  clearer  sun,  and 
listen  to  more  enrapturing  melody,  than  has  yet  been  enjoyed. 
The  minions  of  power  and  the  slaves  of  religion  may  move  and 
combine,  according  to  their  fantasy,  the  grains  of  their  glitter 
ing  but  worthless  sand  on  the  bank  where  truth  and  progress 
roll  their  billows  along ;  but  the  hour  of  flood  tide  comes,  and 
nothing  can  retard  or  avert  its  overwhelming  power.  Nothing 
can  arrest  popular  thought  now  in  full  revolt  against  spiritual  as 
well  as  political  despotism,  and  marching  to  certain  victory  over 
every  form  of  wrong.  To  demand  liberty  as  a  Christian  is  to 
demand  liberty  as  a  man.     Luther,  whether  he  designed  it  or 


THE   CHURCH    WITHOUT    A   BISHOP.  229 

not,  led  the  way  direct  to  Munser.  This  point  did  not  escape 
Bossuet.  Said  he,  "  Luther,  in  affirming  that  the  Christian  was 
not  subject  to  any  man,  nourished  the  spirit  of  independence  in 
the  people,  and  gave  to  their  leaders  dangerous  views."  Luther, 
however,  was  a  very  imperfect  reformer,  since  he  admitted  in 
religion,  but  rejected  in  civil  policy,  the  right  to  resist  tyranny. 
He  fought  against  the  pope  for  a  point  of  doctrine,  but  left  in 
the  hands  of  kings  and  sub-pontiffs  the  power  to  strangle  all 
belief.  What  would  ecclesiastical  domination  have  accom- 
plished long  before  this,  had  it  not  been  for  the  principles  of 
brotherhood  and  spiritual  freedom  contended  and  bled  for,  not 
by  Catholics,  Lutherans,  nor  the  self-styled  Protestants,  but  by 
Waldenses,  Hussites,  Anabaptists,  Moravians,  and  other  great 
defenders  of  the  rights  of  conscience  in  recent  times  ?  But  a 
more  glorious  advancement  is  before  us,  and  it  must  speedily 
come  ;  "  another  and  greater  reformation,  the  more  complete 
for  its  delay.  Not  even  the  church  can  render  itself  perma- 
nently invulnerable  to  public  opinion.  The  strength  which  it 
resists  grows  yet  more  formidable  by  that  resistance.  At  last 
the  voice  of  truth  must  be  heard,  and  the  light  of  knowledge 
must  be  admitted.  At  noonday,  in  the  height  of  summer,  it  is 
silent,  cold,  and  dark,  in  the  cloisters  of  a  cathedral.  But  the 
thunder  resounds  along  its  vaulted  roofs,  teaching  them  strange 
echoes;  and,  in  the  glare  of  the  lightning  that  flashes  through 
its  aisles,  the  very  stones  seem  to  move,  and  the  monumental 
dead  to  be  stirred,  like  a  slumbering  world  aroused  to  the  ne- 
cessity of  change,  revival,  and  reformation.  The  stroke  of 
heaven's  lightning  spares  neither  tower,  nor  spire,  nor  gilded 
ball,  nor  the  very  cross  itself.  It  unroofs  the  church,  and  lets 
in  the  free  air  and  sight  of  the  blue  sky.  Institutions  no  more 
than  buildings  are  made  for  eternity.  They  only  prolong 
themselves  by  improvement  and  renovation ;  nature  alone  is 
everlasting.  Truth,  justice,  right,  imbodied  in  opinion,  are 
nature's  thunder  and  lightning ;  and,  when  they  shatter  institu- 
tions, as  elemental  powers  the  material  building,  it  is  that  from 
the  ruins  humanity  may  raise  a  purer  and  nobler  shrine,  wor- 
20 


230  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

thier  of  that  great  Spirit  whose  temple  is  the  universe,  whose 
altar  the  human  heart,  his  best  worship  the  activity  of  benefi- 
cence,, and  the  only  uniformity  he  requires  *the  oneness  of 
brotherhood  in  all  mankind." 

If  we  are  to  have  freedom  of  conscience  in  full  extent,  and 
a  religion  emanating  from  Christ  and  harmonious  with  the 
republican  institutions  projected  eighteen  centuries  ago,  and,  by 
a  merciful  Providence,  now  begun  to  be  realized  in  the  world, 
then  must  the  hierarchical  element  be  discarded  by  all,  that  the 
enfranchised  nations  may  joyfully  verify  to  themselves  that, 
under  God,  the  best  security  of  freedom,  civil  and  religious,  is 
a  church  without  a  bishop,  not  less  than  a  state  without  a  king. 


CHAPTER    IV. 

THE    CHURCH    WITHOUT    A    PRIEST. 

Priestcraft  is  the  product  of  eveiy  age,  the  defender  of 
every  bigoted  creed,  the  chief  foe  to  Christianity,  and  greatest 
curse  to  mankind.  These  are  the  general  points  which,  in  this 
discussion,  it  will  be  our  purpose  to  elucidate. 

In  the  first  place,  priestcraft  is  the  product  of  every  age. 
The  makers  and  patrons  of  consecrated  silver  shrines  have 
ever  deprecated  the  innovation  of  free  principles,  such  as  Paul 
diffused,  summoning  local  prejudice  and  partisan  bigotry  to  the 
defence  of  their  established  prerogatives,  with  the  mercenary- 
plea  that  by  this  craft  they  have  their  wealth.  This  is  peculiar 
to  no  clime,  limited  to  no  sect,  but  is  indigenous  to  our  fallen 
nature  in  every  place  and  association.  As  before  Menes  the 
Egyptians  precipitated  a  young  virgin  into  the  Nile,  in  sacrifice 
to  a  superstitious  creed,  so,  under  the  emperors  and  kings  of 
later  times,  and  in  league  with  civil  power  of  every  degree, 
priestly  domination,  under  all   varieties   of  artificial   forms, 


THE    CHURCH   WITHOUT    A    PRIEST.  231 

pagan  ceremonies,  and  unscriptural  rites,  has  been  sanguinary 
without  exception,  and  inimical  to  all  the  best  interests  of  man- 
kind. The  sacerdotal  corporations  who  thus  tyrannize  over  the 
masses  betray  their  intrinsic  infamy  by  the  fact  that,  while  they 
willingly  lend  a  mercenary  support  to  political  oppression,  they 
do  not  seem  to  regard  as  a  divine  thing  the  worship  they 
impose,  and  by  which  they  most  of  all  desire  to  aggrandize 
themselves.  Hence  the  greatest  evils  have  been  inflicted  upon 
humanity  in  the  name  of  religion.  The  auto  dafe  has  taken 
the  place  of  human  sacrifices,  and  a  new  monopoly,  embracing 
almost  every  source  of  knowledge  and  enjoyment,  has,  for 
many  centuries,  plunged  the  nations  in  ignorance  and  despair. 
Because  priestly  oppression  is  oftener  made  the  rule  than  the 
exception,  the  attempt  to  break  this  accursed  yoke  demands 
the  greatest  efforts,  and  involves  the  most  formidable  perils ; 
but  the  auspicious  hour  has  at  length  arrived  when,  in  the  pop- 
ular estimation,  no  treasure  of  gold  or  blood  can  exceed  the 
value  of  that  boon  Heaven  designed  for  all  —  freedom  to  wor- 
ship God. 

Any  system  that  places  human  intermediaries  between  the 
individual  believer  and  his  Creator,  is  in  direct  conflict  with 
man's  rights  and  the  law  of  Christ.  Such  obstructions,  rather 
than  aids,  to  the  welfare  of  our  race  do  exist,  and  it  is  easy  to 
trace  their  origin  and  detect  their  motives.  Says  Ranke, 
"  Among  the  heathens,  sacerdotal  offices  were  conferred  in  like 
manner  with  those  of  civil  life.  The  Jews  set  apart  a  particu- 
lar tribe  for  the  duties  of  the  priesthood  ;  but  Christianity  was 
distinguished  from  both  these  by  the  fact  that  a  certain  class 
of  men,  freely  choosing  the  sacred  profession,  consecrated  by 
the  imposition  of  hands,  and  withdrawn  from  worldly  cares  and 
pursuits,  is  solemnly  devoted  "  to  things  spiritual  and  divine." 
The  church  was  at  first  governed  in  accordance  with  republi- 
can forms ;  but  these  disappeared  as  the  new  belief  rose  in 
preeminence,  and  the  clergy  gradually  assumed  a  position 
entirely  distinct  from  that  of  the  laity."  After  truth,  ema- 
nating from  the  manger  and  the  rural  simplicity  of  Judea,  Strug- 


232  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

gled  through  centuries  to  make  the  nations  free,  and,  in  the 
strife  with  craft  and  power,  became  but  the  more  inthralled, 
the  ancient  depth  of  degradation  was  again  nearly  attained, 
when  the  pope  resolved  to  demolish  the  basilica  of  St.  Peter, 
the  metropolitan  church  of  Christendom,  every  portion  of  which 
was  crowded  with  hallowed  monuments  which  had  received 
the  veneration  of  ages,  and  erected  a  temple,  planned  after 
those  of  pagan  antiquity,  on  its  site. 

To  represent  the  priest  as  the  sole  and  immediate  vicegerent 
of  Heaven,  clothed  with  authority  the  most  divine,  and  conse- 
crated with  a  sanctity  the  most  pure,  no  imposition  is  reckoned 
too  gross,  and  no  fable  too  absurd.  The  undeviating  aim  is  to 
gain  power  over  the  credulous,  ignorant,  and  superstitious,  of 
all  times,  as  we  may  infer  from  the  ridiculous  claims  of  apos- 
tolical succession  and  other  ecclesiastical  fooleries  propounded 
in  our  own  day.  If  men  calling  themselves  Christians,  and 
Christian  ministers,  attempt,  as  every  body  knows  is  done,  to 
concoct  a  new  infallibility,  and  dig  up  from  the  consecrated 
churchyard  of  defunct  absurdities  a  revolting  system,  which 
they  strive  to  fasten  on  the  free  minds  of  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tury, what  must  have  been  the  amount  of  deception  and  spirit- 
ual tyranny  when  priests  had  an  unquestioned  recognition  as 
the  messengers  of  God,  were  the  sole  depositaries  of  science, 
the  uncontrolled  conservators  and  communicators  of  knowledge 
to  the  world  ?  We  live  at  a  period  when  "  the  solemn  and 
plaintive  tones  of  the  ancient  church,  once  heard  amid  the 
pangs  of  martyrdom,  or  resounding  as  soft  echoes,  wakening 
the  solitudes  of  the  deserts  of  Syria,  Arabia,  and  Upper  Egypt, 
—  the  veiy  same  tones,  and  the  same  testimony,  at  once  for 
great  truths  and  for  great  errors  too,  for  eternal  verities,  and 
for  futile  superstitions,  are  now,  and  after  so  long  a  silence, 
breaking  from  the  cloisters  of  Oxford,"  and  other  haunts  of 
corrupted  truth,  to  subvert,  if  possible,  pure  and  simple  Chris- 
tianity every  where. 

This  passion  for  spiritual  power  is  as  common  and  intense  in 
modern  sects  as  it  was  in  the  hierarchies  of  an  earlier  type. 


THE  CHURCH  WITHOUT  A  PRIEST.         233 

Its  means  differ,  but  the  end  in  view  is  always  the  same  —  to 
establish  a  sovereign  control  over  the  faith  of  mankind,  by 
assailing  the  timid  with  threats,  and  the  credulous  with  arrogant 
assertions.  Free  and  independent  minds  it  would  seduce  with 
fawning,  or  coerce  with  invective  ;  indifferent  as  to  the  process 
used,  so  that  the  fabric  of  superstition  may  be  reared  with  all 
its  crushing  weight  on  the  brain  and  soul  of  mankind. 

Since  the  reformation,  so  called,  there  has  been  as  much 
spiritual  despotism  and  spiritual  slavery,  as  abject  submission 
to  priestly  rule,  as  ever  there  was  before.  This  has  followed 
because  that  reformation,  while  it  pruned  off  some  of  the 
branches  of  the  deadly  Upas,  yet  left  its  main  root  of  vigor 
and  source  of  all  its  poison  unscathed.  Luther  himself  was 
too  much  of  a  priest  to  the  last,  and  therefore  a  great  deal  of 
imperfection  depreciated  the  work  he  performed.  Natural 
religion  is  not  adequate  to  meet  and  satisfy  our  higher  wants, 
though  it  imparts  many  noble  influences  through  those  voices 
which  from  the  stars  of  heaven  and  the  flowers  of  earth  speak 
to  the  soul,  ever  tending  to  raise  it  above  a  low  and  sordid 
system  of  action,  towards  virtue  and  sacred  love,  as  the  blossom 
of  our  nature,  and  its  highest  development.  Christianity  is 
therefore  sent  by  our  heavenly  Father  freely  to  bestow  every 
assistance  we  can  need ;  truth,  mercy  and  love  not  to  be  inter- 
fered with  by  those  who  pollute  what  they  touch,  and  render 
the  purest  agency  subservient  to  their  own  sordid  purposes  by 
the  perverted  modes  of  its  application  they  are  most  ambitious 
to  employ.  We  do  not  always  find  clerical  functionaries 
advocating  the  dearest  interests  of  humanity,  ample  freedom, 
civil  and  religious  ;  freedom  of  speech,  thought,  and  action, 
against  arrogance  and  despotism  of  every  kind.  On  the  con- 
trary, beyond  the  sea  and  in  our  own  country,  we  too  often 
find  dissenting  intolerance  coalescing  with  episcopal  bigotry, 
while  Christianity,  like  its  divine  Founder,  between  the  two 
thieves  is  crucified. 

Such  religionists,  the  disgrace  of  their  profession,  are  aptly 
described  by  Robert  Hall,  in  his  "  Antinomianism  Unmasked." 
20* 


£34  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

In  their  own  estimation  they  are  "  a  privileged  class,  who  dwell 
in  a  secluded  region  of  unshaken  security  and  lawless  liberty, 
while  the  rest  of  the  Christian  world  are  the  vassals  of  legal 
bondage,  toiling  in  darkness  and  in  chains.  Hence,  whatever 
diversity  of  character  they  may  display  in  other  respects,  a 
haughty  and  bitter  disdain  of  every  other  class  of  professors 
is  a  universal  feature.  Contempt  or  hatred  of  the  most  devout 
and  enlightened  Christians  out  of  their  own  pale,  seems  one  of 
the  most  essential  elements  of  their  being  ;  nor  were  the  an- 
cient Pharisees  ever  more  notorious  for  '  trusting  in  themselves 
that  they  were  righteous,  and  despising  others.' " 

Professor  Park,  of  the  Theological  Seminary  at  Andover,  has 
described  the  dictatorial  spirit  of  arid  dogmatists,  and  the  impo- 
tency  of  their  rage  in  the  present  age,  by  the  following  appro- 
priate instance  and  illustration  :  "  The  Alexandrian  fathers, 
Clement,  Origen,  and  Athanasius  placed  a  punctuation  mark 
after  the  word  ev  in  the  third  verse  of  the  first  chapter  of  John's 
Gospel.  Chrysostom  was  alarmed  at  this  punctuation,  and 
denounced  it  as  a  heresy.  Epiphanius  declared  it  blasphemous, 
and  the  sin  against  the  Holy  Ghost ;  and  this  commotion  on 
account  of  a  single  dot  contributed  to  delay  for  years  the  per- 
ilous work  of  punctuating  the  sacred  page.  The  like  hostility 
to  free  thought  bound  the  energies  of  the  schoolmen  down  to 
the  most  profitless  inquiries.  Not  daring  to  rise  up  and  labor 
in  the  sunshine,  they  burrowed  in  darkness,  and  wasted  on 
puerile  conceits  the  power  that  was  meant  for  discovery  and 
progress.  This  substitution  of  polemic  rancor  for  fraternal 
interest  has  driven  the  mind  of  others  to  an  extreme  of  error, 
which  they  did  not  themselves  anticipate.  As  the  child,  so  the 
man,  and  as  every  man,  so  the  theologian,  is  apt  to  do  right  if 
you  convince  him  that  he  is  expected  to  do  so,  and  is  apt  to  do 
wrong  if  you  assure  his  neighbors  that  he  is  past  recovery. 
He  is  won  to  truth  and  repulsed  into  error.  Arminius,  if  he 
had  been  kindly  reasoned  with,  instead  of  being  rudely  de- 
nounced, had  never  pressed  his  corruptions  so  far ;  and  the 
history  of  many  pitiable  writers  is  this  —  first,  they  inquired 


THE  CHURCH  WITHOUT  A  PRIEST.  235 

with  honest  intent ;  secondly,  they  were  called  heretics  ;  lastly, 
they  became  heretics.  This  domineering  spirit  of  ecclesiastics 
has  incited  other  minds  to  revolution  against  authority.  There 
are  some  spirits  who  will  think  for  themselves.  You  might  as 
well  chain  the  Hellespont  as  them.  You  may  stand  at  the 
portal  with  a  pointed  bayonet,  they  will  come  out  and  do  what 
they  list.  When  the  bull  of  the  pope  has  fallen  on  such  a 
mind,  and  the  edict  of  the  bishop  has  oppressed  it,  and  the 
Presbyterian  book  of  discipline  has  held  it  down  too  closely, 
this  mind  has  stirred  under  its  load,  and  has  struggled  against 
the  walls  that  confined  it,  pressing  against  them  like  lava 
against  the  sides  of  iEtna,  and  at  last  has  heaved,  and  poured 
itself  out  of  the  rent  crater,  and  scattered  books  of  discipline 
to  the  four  winds,  and  taught  the  aspirants  for  mental  sway 
that  what  God  has  made  elastic,  and  expansive,  and  inflamma- 
ble, is  not  to  be  compressed  and  stifled.'1 

That  priestcraft  is  endeavoring  to  gain  a  foothold  in  this  free 
land  is  evident  from  notorious  facts.  For  instance,  on  July  2, 
1843,  a  young  man  was  ordained  by  Bishop  Onderdonk  of  New 
York,  who  openly  avowed  his  agreement  essentially  with  the 
church  of  Rome.  1.  "  He  did  not  see  any  thing  to  prevent 
or  forbid "  his  having  recourse  to  the  ministry  of  Rome,  if 
denied  admission  to  the  ministry  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal 
church  in  this  country.  2.  "  He  did  not  deem  the  differences 
between  them  [the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church]  and  the  church 
of  Rome  to  be  such  as  embraced  any  points  of  faith."  3.  "  Pie 
was  not  prepared  to  pronounce  the  doctrine  of  transubstantiation 
an  absurd  or  impossible  doctrine."  4.  "  He  does  not  object  to 
the  Romish  doctrine  of  purgatory,  as  defined  by  the  council  of 
Trent."  *  *  5.  "  Pie  was  not  prepared  to  say  whether  she 
[the  Romish  church]  or  the  Anglican  church  were  the  more 
pure."  6.  "  He  regarded  the  denial  of  the  cup  to  the  laity 
[in  the  administration  of  the  sacrament  of  the  Lord's  supper] 
as  a  mere  matter  of  discipline."  *  *  7.  "  He  believes  that 
the  reformation  from  the  church  of  Rome  was  an  unjustifia- 
ble act,  and  followed  by  many  grievous  and  lamentable  results." 


236 


REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 


8.  "  He  was  not  disposed  to  fault  the  church  of  Rome  for 
using  Apocryphal  books ;  nor  was  he  prepared  to  say  that 
the  Holy  Spirit  did  not  speak   by  these  books  Apocryphal." 

9.  "  He  considered  the  promise  of  conformity  to  the  doctrine, 
discipline,  and  worship  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  as  not 
embracing  the  Thirty-nine  Articles  in  any  close  and  rigid  con- 
struction of  them,  but  regarded  them  only  as  affording  a  sort  of 
general  basis  of  concord  —  as  those  which  none  subscribed 
except  with  certain  mental  reservations  and  private  exceptions  ; 
and  that  this  was  what  he  regarded  as  Bishop  White's  view." 
He  further  declared  his  conviction  of  the  lawfulness  of  the 
invocation  of  saints  ;  thought  the  souls  in  purgatory  might  be 
benefited  by  our  prayers  ;  received  the  creed  of  Pope  Pius 
IV.,  so  far  as  it  was  a  repetition  of  the  decrees  of  the  council 
of  Trent,  which  decrees  he  could  receive,  the  damnatory 
clauses  only  excepted,  &c,  &c.  See  "  A  Statement  of  Facts 
in  Relation  to  the  recent  Ordination  in  St.  Stephen's  Church, 
New  York,  by  Drs.  Smith  and  Anthon,  1843." 

Of  the  overbearing  nature  of  hierarchies,  under  the  forms 
of  papacy  and  English  prelacy,  we  have  said  enough  in  the 
preceding  chapters.  The  above  statement  is  abundantly  suffi- 
cient to  show  that,  if  it  were  possible,  we  should  soon  have  the 
same  oppressive  absurdities  established  here.  There  is  another 
class  of  Christians  to  whom  we  shall  refer  in  this  connection, 
and  with  profound  respect.  The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
is  exceedingly  active,  and  doing  a  great  amount  of  good  ;  but 
we  think  they  would  do  much  more,  if  they  were  governed  by 
a  more  primitive  ecclesiastical  polity.  Punchard,  in  his  work 
on  "Congregationalism,"  speaks  of  this  as  follows: — 

"  1.  'The  government  of  this  church  is  strictly  Episcopal.' 
So  says  one  of  its  leading  members.  Another  says,  ■  It  is  a 
moderate  Episcopacy.' 

"  Like  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church,  it  asserts  that  there 
should  be  three  orders  in  the  ministry  —  bishops,  elders,  and 
deacons ;  and  its  book  of  discipline,  contains  the  substance  of 
the  form  and  manner  of  making  and  ordaining  these  officers, 


THE    CHURCH   WITHOUT    A   PRIEST.  237 

which  is  found  in  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer  of  the  Episco- 
pal church.  Their  bishops,  however,  claim  not  the  exclusive 
right  to  ordain,  and  may  themselves  be  ordained  by  presbyters. 
See  'Discipline  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,'  chap.  i.  §  4 ; 
chap.  iv.  §  1,  2,  3.  They  are  regarded  as  superior  to  elders  in 
office  rather  than  grade.  Zioii's  Herald,  on  Methodist  polity, 
Oct.  6, 1841.  Still  they  appear  to  sympathize  with  Episcopacy. 
Soon  after  the  establishment  of  an  '  episcopate '  in  the  Prot- 
estant Episcopal  church  of  the  United  States,  Dr.  Coke,  the  pre- 
siding Methodist  bishop,  expressed  his  entire  accordance  with 
the  Protestant  Episcopal  church,  in  their  order  and  discipline, 
and  his  earnest  desire  for  a  union  between  the  two  denomina- 
tions. And  though  there  is  now,  perhaps,  less  sympathy  be- 
tween these  hierarchies  than  ever  before,  yet,  as  late  as  1840, 
this  proposal  was  renewed  by  a  leading  Methodist. 

"  So  far,  then,  as  this  church  approves  of  the  constitution 
and  discipline  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  church,  so  far  must 
we  disapprove  of  Episcopal  Methodism. 

"  2.  The  national  character  of  this  church  is  another  ob- 
jection to  it.  All  the  congregations  throughout  the  United 
States  are  regarded  as  but  parts  of  one  great  national  estab- 
lishment. In  no  church  system  in  these  United  States,  Popery 
alone  excepted,  is  there  such  a  centralizing  of  power  as  in  this. 
"Viewed  in  its  national  character,  it  is  an  oligarchy.  Six  bish- 
ops are  at  its  head,  as  its  supervisors,  and,  to  a  very  great 
extent,  its  uncontrolled  governors.  And  these,  unlike  the  bish- 
ops of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  church,  appear  not  to  be  per- 
manently confined  to  particular  dioceses,  or  districts,  but  to 
have  equal  power  and  authority  in  every  part  of  the  church, 
over  its  spiritual  and  temporal  affairs.  More  than  two  thousand 
travelling  preachers,  in  every  part  of  the  United  States,  are 
under  their  control,  and  go  and  come  at  their  bidding  —  a 
power  which  the  very  apostles,  the  vicegerents  of  Christ  him- 
self, never  pretended  to  exercise  over  the  pastors  and  teachers 
of  particular  churches. 

"  3.  The  absolute  and  exclusive  power  of  the  clergy,  in  the 


238  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

government  of  this  church,  is,  in  our  view,  another  very  ob- 
jectionable feature  in  the  system. 

"  The  United  States  are  divided  into  thirty -three  '  confer- 
ences ; '  in  each  of  which  there  is  a  yearly  meeting  of  all  the 
travelling  preachers,  and  such  as  are  eligible  to  this  office,  with 
a  presiding  bishop  at  their  head,  called  the  '  yearly  confer- 
ence.' This  body  of  clergymen  manage  the  affairs  of  the 
church  within  their  conference. 

"From  these  yearly  conferences  a  number  of  delegates, 
one  for  every  twenty-one  members,  go  up  to  form  the  '  gen- 
eral conference,'  which  has  in  its  hands  the  supreme  power  of 
the  church.  Into  neither  of  these  bodies  are  any  laymen  ad- 
mitted. The  general  government  of  this  church,  then,  is  en- 
tirely in  the  hands  of  the  bishops  and  clergy  —  a  most  unscrip- 
tural  and  dangerous  location  of  power ;  as  is  manifest  from  the 
infallible  word  of  God,  and  from  the  past  history  of  the  church. 

"  4.  Not  only  are  the  people  thus  robbed  of  all  participation 
in  the  general  government  under  which  they  live,  but  likewise 
of  all  right  to  call,  ordain,  retain,  or  dismiss  their  ministers. 
The  general  conference  chooses  the  bishops.  Discipline, 
chap.  i.  §  4.  The  yearly  conferences  choose  the  travelling 
elders  and  deacons,  and  present  them  to  the  bishops  for  ordi- 
nation. Discipline,  chap,  i,  §  6,  7.  The  quarterly  confer- 
ences recommend  the  preachers  to  the  yearly  conferences. 
The  bishops  appoint  the  presiding  elders,  who  are  virtually 
bishops  in  their  respective  circuits.  Section  5.  The  presiding 
elders,  the  travelling  elders,  the  deacons,  and  the  preachers, 
are,  as  we  have  already  seen,  all  under  the  direction  of  the 
bishops,  who  station  them  where  they  think  proper,  and 
remove  them  when  they  think  best,  subject  to  certain  general 
restrictions.     Sections  4,  5,  8.     Answer  11,  12. 

"  In  none  of  these  important  matters  is  the  voice  of  the  peo- 
ple heard.  I  mean  the  body  of  the  people,  in  distinction  from 
the  officers  of  the  church."     pp.  230,  231,  232. 

Secondly,  priestcraft  is  not  only  the  product  of  all  ages,  but 
it  is  the  defender  of  every  bigoted  creed.     The  priests  of  the 


THE    CHURCH    WITHOUT   A   PRIEST.  239 

old  nations  were  in  some  respects  the  benefactors  of  the  human 
race  ;  but  in  most  instances  they  were  a  curse.  Reinhard  and 
others  have  shown  that,  though  the  sacerdotal  orders  were 
appointed  for  the  express  purpose  of  preserving  true  religion, 
and  extending  good  dispositions  and  feelings,  yet  it  is  well 
known  that  they  not  only  neglected  this  important  calling,  but 
acted  in  direct  opposition  to  the  duties  imposed  upon  them. 
They  were  every  where  zealous  to  maintain  and  propagate  the 
crudest  notions  of  religion,  and  the  most  senseless  forms  of 
superstition  ;  to  cry  down  and  suppress  all  the  new  light  and 
information  that  might  be  derived  from  philosophy,  while  they 
favored  the  bitter  hostilities  which  originated  in  antique  creeds, 
and  employed  them  to  their  own  advantage.  In  Egypt,  and 
through  all  the  nations  of  the  East,  priests  bent  all  their  pow- 
ers of  artifice  to  secure  their  own  dominion,  and  maintain  the 
dependence  of  kings  upon  their  order,  without  doing  any  thing 
towards  enlightening  and  improving  the  people. 

When  Jesus  Christ  appeared  on  earth,  he  came  to  destroy 
ecclesiastical  tyranny,  by  founding  a  kingdom  purely  spiritual  ; 
one  that  might  be  admitted  into  all  countries  without  the  cum- 
brous use  of  sacerdotal  enginery.  Whatever  may  be  the 
modifications  of  the  civil  constitution,  and  the  vicissitudes  of 
climate,  or  time,  he  prescribed  only  two  ceremonies,  which 
have  a  noble  simplicity,  and  can  be  observed  wherever  men 
reside,  without  priests  to  mystify  or  turn  them  to  a  perverted 
use.  Every  thing  was  left,  both  by  Jesus  and  the  apostles,  to 
the  judgment  and  conscience  of  those  who  might  embrace  the 
true  religion,  and  follow  only  the  word  of  God,  as  best  ex- 
pounded and  exemplified  in  the  lessons  and  life  of  the  great 
Redeemer.  They  well  knew  that  therein  nothing  is  said  of 
sacred  places  or  stated  feasts ;  of  pious  journeys  and  pil- 
grimages, or  of  oppressive  ceremonies  binding  on  those  whom 
the  truth  has  made  free.  The  whole  earth  is  God's  temple  ; 
in  every  place,  man  can  lift  up  holy  hands  ;  every  creature  of 
God  is  clean  and  good,  and  no  worshipper  is  to  have  dictated 
to  him,  by  earthly  authority,  the  attitude  and  language  in  which 


240  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

he  shall  divinely  adore.  Jesus  attacked  the  pernicious  tradi- 
tions and  presumption  of  the  ancient  priesthood  on  all  occa- 
sions, (Matt.  v.  21,  et  seq.)  and  did  it  with  an  earnestness  which 
evinced  itself  by  the  most  vehement  reproaches.  Matt.  xv. 
1 — 9.  Mark  vii.  1 — 13.  Matt,  xxiii.  1 — 39.  He  compared 
all  these  merely  human  precepts  to  poisonous  plants,  which 
must  be  entirely  rooted  up,  (Matt.  xv.  13,)  bitterly  censured 
the  Pharisees  for  taking  so  much  pains  to  make  proselytes  to  a 
disfigured  religion,  (Matt,  xxiii.  15,)  and  finally  engaged  to 
deliver  the  poor,  oppressed  people  from  the  whole  burden  of  the 
Mosaic  law,  and  give  them  the  easy  yoke  of  a  pure,  spiritual 
religion  in  its  stead.  Matt.  xi.  28,  29.  By  the  representation 
which  Jesus  gave  of  the  doctrine  of  the  one  only  and  supreme 
God,  and  of  the  nature  of  acceptable  worship,  very  important 
objects  were  to  be  accomplished.  He  exhibited  true  religion 
with  such  clearness  and  simplicity,  that  those  of  the  humblest 
capacities,  even  children,  might  comprehend  it.  By  calling 
God  Father ,  and  putting  that  endearing  name  in  the  first  breath 
of  all  our  supplications,  the  Savior  would  extirpate  those  fright- 
ful images  under  which  both  Jews  and  Gentiles  had  contem- 
plated the  Deity,  and  substitute  a  childlike  confidence,  a  heart- 
felt love,  instead  of  that  slavish  mortification  and  the  service 
extorted  by  fear,  which  had  usually  been  thought  necessary  for 
appeasing  him  and  retaining  his  favor.  "In  particular,  the 
priests,  those  promoters  and  protectors  of  superstition,  who  had 
hitherto  claimed  for  themselves  the  authority  of  an  indispensa- 
ble mediatorship  between  God  and  man,  and  thus  rendered 
themselves  of  very  great  importance,  were  to  he  deprived  of 
their  influence  forever ;  for  he  who  knows  God  to  be  a  conde- 
scending and  affectionate  Father  can  apply  to  him  directly,  and 
needs  not  a  prior  introduction  from  such  mediators  and  con- 
fidants." 

Christ  would  teach  man  that  there  is  no  spiritual  progress  for 
him  till  he  discovers  that  truth  is  as  much  a  thing  to  be  felt,  as 
a  thing  to  be  perceived,  and  that  it  is  only  a  very  small  portion 
of  truth  that  the  philosopher's  analysis,  the  logician's  syllo- 


THE    CHURCH    WITHOUT   A   PRIEST.  241 

gisms,  theological  dogmas,  and  sectarian  creeds,  can  impart  to 
the  immortal  soul.  The  searcher  after  true  light  and  strength 
will  have  to  sweep  from  his  path  a  dense  host  of  antiquated 
chimeras,  before  he  can  run  rejoicingly,  like  an  unbound  giant, 
in  the  way  of  holiness.  To  mould,  transform,  and  elevate,  all 
the  elements  of  our  deathless  nature  is  the  legitimate  influence 
of  Christianity,  and  not  to  degrade  it  into  a  monstrosity  absorb- 
ing the  entire  being,  and  deadening  much  that  is  eminently  and 
beautifully  human.  One  main  cause  of  this  unrighteous  effect 
is  the  supposition,  most  earnestly  inculcated  by  priestcraft,  that 
religion  consists  in  certain  formal  acts ;  whereas  religious  ser- 
vices are  only  the  expressions  of  a  sentiment  which  can  with 
equal  acceptance  find  utterance  in  a  thousand  other  shapes 
beside  those  which  temple  shrines  and  gorgeous  ceremonies 
exhibit.  In  the  depths  of  the  savage  wilderness,  amid  the 
foaming  billows  of  stormy  ocean,  or  on  thunder-scarred  moun- 
tain peaks,  the  incense  of  an  honest  heart  can  rise  in  prayer  to 
the  Omnipotent  as  fervently  and  as  welcomely  as  from  beneath 
the  lofty  cathedral  dome.  And  even  when  the  lips  move  not, 
and  when  the  eyes,  weighed  down  by  sickness  and  sorrow,  are 
closed,  the  heart,  gratefully  devout,  can  throb  its  silent  adoration 
as  sacredly  as  if  it  mingled  its  tones  with  the  melody  of  thou- 
sands, and  bowed  ostentatiously  before  altar  and  priest.  True 
worship  is  as  different  from  the  mere  forms  on  which  priestcraft 
mainly  depends,  as  a  hundred  beautiful  flowers,  fragrantly 
blooming  in  the  verdant,  dewy,  and  sunny  field,  are  unlike  the 
mere  arithmetical  statement  that  there  are  a  hundred  of  them. 
To  substitute  this  in  the  place  of  that  simple  and  divine  adoration 
which  Christ  appointed  and  Heaven  requires,  is  worse  than  to 
prefer  a  horlus  siccus  to  the  delicious  odors  and  diversified  hues 
of  a  blooming  parterre ;  it  would  be  the  superstitious  madness 
that  drains  the  veins  of  a  human  being  to  make  a  warm  bath 
for  his  feet. 

The  church,  so  far  as  it  corresponds  to  its  true  character,  is 
Christianity  realized  in  the  world.     The  life  of  Christ,  as  the 
life  of  perfect  love  to  God  and  man,  binds  those  who  share  it 
21 


242  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

into  fellowship,  and  this  is  their  only  bond.  As  the  God  re- 
vealed in  Christianity  is  a  God  of  order,  so  must  this  fellow- 
ship, notwithstanding  the  variety  of  gifts  and  characters  therein 
comprised,  constitute  one  perfect  whole,  organized  and  devel- 
oped according  to  its  own  essential  and  inherent  laws.  "If,". 
says  Ullmann,  "  the  church  is  only  the  natural  expression,  the 
realization  of  Christianity,  then  must  the  essential  character- 
istic of  Christianity  be  that  of  the  church.  We  therefore  say, 
on  the  one  hand,  the  church  is  no  mere  moral  institution,  no 
school  for  the  dissemination  of  doctrine,  or  the  promotion  of 
redemption  or  reconciliation  ;  but,  on  the  other  hand,  as  Christ 
taught  and  bore  witness  to  the  truth,  so  must  the  church  teach 
and  bear  witness  ;  as  he,  by  word  and  deed,  promoted  morality, 
so  must  the  church  cultivate  and  cherish  it ;  the  redemption  and 
reconciliation  which  he  revealed,  the  church  should,  with  all 
its  powers,  diffuse  and  render  available.  But  all  must  be  done 
with  reference  to  the  central  point  of  Christianity,  which  is  the 
life  and  character  of  Christ  himself;  and  the  more  all  sec- 
ondary objects  are  kept  subordinate  to  this  main  principle,  the 
better  will  the  church  fulfil  its  office,  the  more  Christian  will  it 
become."  Now,  as  eighteen  hundred  years  ago,  men  can 
become  Christians  only  by  entering  into  a  vital  communion 
with  the  divine  character  of  Christ,  and,  through  it,  with  God. 
They  can  participate  in  the  full  benefits  of  Christianity  only  so 
far  as  they  persevere  with  growing  steadfastness  in  this  com- 
munion, obeying  every  command,  so  that  Christ  becomes  more 
and  more  a  living  existence  in  their  souls,  pervading  their 
whole  life,  and  calling  forth  within  them  a  higher  nature,  like 
unto  his  own. 

Creeds  fabricated  by  priestly  craft  constitute  the  heaviest  and 
most  corroding  chains  ever  fastened  on  human  minds.  The 
inquirer  after  truth  is  drawn  away  from  the  words  and  example 
of  the  great  Teacher,  and  confused  by  those  who  shout  around 
him  their  own  articles  so  violently,  that  the  voice  of  the  only 
infallible  Master  is  nearly  drowned.  And  what  are  these  sub- 
stitutes for  the  plain  teachings  of  the  New  Testament,  but  mis- 


THE    CHURCH   WITHOUT    A    PRIEST.  243 

erable  skeletons,  freezing  abstractions,  unintelligible  dogmas, 
as  dubious  to  the  understanding  as  they  are  repugnant  to  the 
heart?  The  confessions  of  faith,  books  of  discipline,  and 
creed  concoctions,  in  general  adopted  by  most  Protestant  sects, 
imbody  the  grand  idea  of  infallibility,  as  truly  as  the  decrees 
of  Trent  and  the  Vatican ;  and,  if  I  were  compelled  to  choose 
between  the  two,  most  assuredly  would  I  prefer  the  despotism 
of  Rome  ;  for  that  has  some  historical  dignity,  if  no  other 
merit.  The  spirit  which  has  dug  dreary  dungeons,  kindled 
martyr-flames,  and  invented  instruments  of  exquisite  torture  for 
the  body,  yet  reappears,  from  time  to  time,  in  little  books,  man- 
ifestoes of  synods,  conferences,  and  councils,  to  exert  a  no  less 
fearful  influence  over  the  human  mind.  The  bonds  of  gross 
outward  intolerance  may  be  broken,  and  the  pressure  of  state 
religion  may  be  removed,  yet  the  agents  of  evil,  who,  at  an 
earlier  day,  exerted  their  unhallowed  tyranny  even  in  this  free 
land,  still  lurk  with  cunning  alacrity  to  spring  upon  us  those 
spiritual  chains  that  eat  like  aspics  into  the  soul.  Were  it  not 
that  the  spirit  of  the  people  is  essentially  liberal,  and  that  intel- 
ligent conceptions  of  republican  Christianity  are  spreading 
wider  and  deeper  every  day,  human  auspices  would  be  sad 
indeed.  Coalitions  are  as  practicable  in  the  church  as  in  the 
state ;  and  recent  events  show  that  minor  differences  can  be 
sunk,  for  the  purpose  of  achieving  a  common  end.  If  the 
ministry,  instead  of  forming  alliances  among  themselves,  would 
exercise  individual  faith  in  a  higher  operation  of  Christianity, 
a  nobler  development  of  humanity,  they  would  more  directly 
and  efficiently  commend  themselves  to  the  popular  heart,  and 
more  gloriously  sway  the  destinies  of  all  mankind.  Christ  was 
the  greatest  of  reformers  ;  and  perpetual  reform  is  the  charac- 
teristic spirit  of  a  true  ministry.  Without  this  spirit  of  truth 
and  power,  fine  churches  are  but  painted  sepulchres,  and 
priestly  disquisitions  in  them  are  but  sounding  brass  or  a  tin- 
kling cymbal.  Wherever  we  meet  with  persons  who  teach  that 
the  special  mercy  of  God  and  the  saving  power  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  are  bestowed  through  a  wafer,  bread  and  wine,  some 


244  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

form  of  benediction,  baptism,  and  ordination,  or  any  other  out- 
ward ministration,  from  the  hands  or  lips  of  a  frail  fellow- 
mortal,  there  is  priestcraft  the  most  rife  to  be  reprobated  and 
despised. 

Christ  came  to  put  an  end  to  hereditary  faith,  to  make  each 
man's  belief  original  and  independent  wjth  himself,  directly 
drawn  from  the  only  source  of  Christian  doctrine  and  practice. 
Nothing  is  more  certain  than  that  religion  is  a  subject  upon 
which  all  persons  are  under  obligations  the  most  solemn  to 
deliberate,  choose,  and  act  for  themselves.  Freedom  of 
inquiry  is  a  high  privilege,  as  safe  for  the  masses  as  for  indi- 
viduals ;  and  this  boon  Christ  procured  for  all  our  race.  He 
never  designed  that  a  few  should  lead,  and  that  the  multitude 
should  be  compelled  to  follow  in  their  steps.  But  what  are  the 
spirit  and  language  of  many  professed  teachers  of  Christianity  ? 
"  Out  of  my  creed  there  is  no  orthodoxy ;  out  of  my  church 
there  is  no  salvation."  But,  fortunately,  the  days  of  such 
priestly  arrogance  are  numbered. 

"  The  spirit  cannot  alway  sleep  in  dust 

"SYhose  essence  is  ethereal;  they  may  try 
To  darken  and  degrade  it ;  it  may  rust 

Dimly  a  while,  but  cannot  wholly  die  ; 
And,  when  it  wakens,  it  will  send  its  fire 
Intenser  forth  and  higher." 

Priestcraft  lays  hold  of  man  as  soon  as  he  is  born,  and  holds 
him  in  degrading  vassalage  from  the  cradle  to  the  grave. 
Infant  sprinkling,  youthful  catechizing,  confirmation,  creeds, 
and  extreme  unction,  —  these  are  some  of  the  machinery  which 
sacerdotal  falsehood,  in  varied  forms,  employs  to  cramp  the 
free  thoughts  and  mould  the  eternal  destinies  of  its  unhappy 
dupes.  Imbecile  babelings  are  made  church-members  by  a 
senseless  rite,  before  they  have  a  will  of  their  own  to  exercise, 
and  are  often  domineered  over,  by  artificial  restraints,  against 
their  will,  until,  having  grown  mature  enough  to  judge  for 
themselves,  they  either  supinely  yield  to  the  tyranny  that  has 
been  imposed  upon  them,  or  recklessly  repel  all  religions  as 


THE    CHURCH    WITHOUT   A    PRIEST.  245 

equally  absurd.  Blind  superstition  or  mad  infidelity  is  the 
common  result  by  priestcraft  produced. 

It  sounds  very  inconsistent,  if  not  absurd,  to  hear  sectarians 
boasting  of  their  Protestantism,  and  abusing  most  violently  the 
superstitions  of  the  Romish  church,  while  they  themselves 
attach  such  efficacy  to  the  very  practice  which  constituted 
the  first  radical  corruption  of  Christianity,  and  has  ever  re- 
mained the  chief  strength  of  the  Papacy.  As  a  specimen  of 
the  most  recent  views  on  this  subject,  the  following  extracts  are 
adduced  from  "  Dodsworth  on  Romanism  and  Dissent,"  the 
American  edition,  printed  at  Baltimore,  1842.  Speaking  of 
"  the  church,"  the  author  says,  "  It  is  certainly  most  surprising 
that  any  one  can  call  in  question  the  fact  that  she  holds  the 
efficacy  of  Christian  baptism.  By  adopting  the  Nicene  Creed 
into  her  formularies,  she  calls  upon  her  members  to  profess 
their  belief  in  '  one  baptism  for  the  remission  of  sins.'  In  her 
baptismal  service  she  adopts  such  language  as  this  :  '  We  call 
upon  Thee  for  this  person,  or  this  infant,  that  he,  coming  to  thy 
holy  baptism,  may  receive  remission  of  his  sins  by  spiritual 
regeneration.'  'Sanctify  this  water  to  the  mystical  washing 
away  of  sin.'  And  after  baptism,  'We  yield  thee  hearty 
thanks,  most  merciful  Father,  that  it  hath  pleased  thee  to 
regenerate  this  infant  with  thy  Holy  Spirit,  to  receive  him  for 
thine  own  child  by  adoption,  and  to  incorporate  him  into  thy 
holy  church.''  Consistently  with  this,  in  her  Catechism,  she 
teaches  every  one  of  her  baptized  children  to  say,  8  My  bap- 
tism, wherein  I  was  made  a  member  of  Christ,  the  child  of 
God,  and  an  inheritor  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven  ;'  and  asserts 
that  '  the  inward  and  spiritual  grace  '  of  baptism  is  *  a  death 
unto  sin,  and  a  new  birth  unto  righteousness ;  for,  being  by 
nature  born  in  sin,  and  the  children  of  wrath,  we  are  hereby 
made  the  children  of  grace.' 

"  Such,  then,  is  clearly  the  doctrine  of  the  church  of  England. 

She  teaches  her  members  to  look  back  to  their  baptism  as  the 

instrument  whereby  they  were  grafted  into  Christ,  and  began 

to  receive  from  him  the  element  of  a  new  and  spiritual  life ; 

21* 


246  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

not  only  as  a  badge  and  token  of  our  Christian  profession,  but 
rather  as  '  a  sure  witness  and  effectual  sign  of  grace,  and  of 
God's  good  will  toward  us,  by  the  which  he  doth  work  invisi- 
bly in  us,  and  doth  not  only  quicken,  but  also  strengthen  and 
confirm  our  faith  in  him. ' "  pp.  126,  127. 

Herein  we  are  distinctly  told  that  sprinkling  is  a  saving  ordi- 
nance ;  and,  on  page  129,  we  are  further  informed  that  infants 
unfortunately  bora  beyond  the  pale  of  "  the  church"  cannot, 
even  by  sprinkling,  be  saved.  The  author  continues,  "  The 
general  rule  obviously  is,  that  those  children  alone  are  entitled 
to  baptism  who  are  born  within  the  bosom  of  the  church,  of 
parents  in  her  communion.  So  Hooker  teaches :  4  God  by  cove- 
nant requireth  in  the  elder  sort  faith  and  baptism ;  in  children,  the 
sacrament  of  baptism  alone,  whereunto  he  hath  also  given  them 
right,  by  special  privilege  of  birth,  within  the  bosom  of  the  holy 
church.'  Ecc.  Pol.  v.  62.  And  again  :  '  We  are  plainly 
taught  of  God,  (1  Cor.  vii.  14,)  that  the  seed  of  faithful 
parentage  is  holy  from  the  very  birth,  which  albeit  we  may  not 
so  understand,  as  if  children  of  believing  parents  were  without 
sin ;  or  grace  from  baptized  parents  derived  by  propagation ; 
or  God  by  covenant  and  promise  tied  to  save  any  in  mere 
regard  of  their  parents'  belief;  yet  seeing  that  to  all  professors 
of  the  name  of  Christ  this  preeminence  above  infidels  is  freely 
given,  that  the  fruit  of  their  bodies  bringeth  into  the  world  with 
it  a  present  interest  and  right  to  those  means  wherewith  the 
ordinance  of  Christ  is,  that  his  church  shall  be  sanctified,'  &c. 
lb.  v.  60. 

uIn  the  time  of  Augustin,  the  question  arose  whether  chil- 
dren whose  parents  were  under  excommunication  and  the 
church's  censures  were  entitled  to  baptism  ;  which  that  father 
decides  in  the  affirmative,  maintaining  that  the  excommunica- 
tion of  a  parent  did  not  deprive  the  child  of  his  right  to  bap- 
tism. But  in  this  case,  as  in  every  other,  it  is  obviously  pre- 
supposed that  the  sponsors  of  such  child  are  in  communion 
with  the  church.  This,  indeed,  appears  from  the  analogous 
case  of  children  born  of  heathen  or  Jewish  parents." 


THE  CHURCH  WITHOUT  A  PRIEST.  247 

These  are  the  blessed  offspring  who  from  the  first  are  trained 
to  believe  that  their  salvation  began  with  a  few  drops  of  water 
on  their  brow  or  linen,  and  that  it  will  be  perfected  if  they 
carefully  "  look  to  the  south  while  reading  prayers,  and  to  the 
west  while  reading  lessons."  Coleman,  in  tracing  the  rise  of 
Episcopacy,  makes  a  remark  or  two  quite  pertinent  to  this 
point.  Says  he,  "  Very  few  of  that  communion  know  or 
believe  that  the  prescribed  mode  of  baptism  in  the  church  of 
England  is  immersion.  This,  however,  is  precisely  and  accu- 
rately the  fact.  The  words  of  the  formulary  for  the  public 
baptism  of  infants  in  their  Book  of  Common  Prayer  are  as  fol- 
lows :  '  then,  naming  it  after  them,  (if  they  shall  certify  that  the 
child  may  well  endure  it,)  he  (the  priest)  shall  dip  it  in  the 
water  discreetly  and  warily,  saying,  &c.  But,  if  they  certify 
that  the  child  is  weak,  it  shall  suffice  to  pour  water  upon  it.' 
In  this,  under  circumstances  the  most  improbable,  an  innovation 
has  been  made  of  which  the  mass  of  the  people  are  totally 
ignorant.  The  mode  of  baptism  has  been  entirely  changed 
without  their  knowledge  or  belief,  while  every  churchman  holds 
in  his  hand  the  prayer-book  which  describes  the  exact  manner 
in  which  the  ordinance  shall  be  administered.  Shall  we  wonder, 
then,  at  the  gradual  change  in  the  government  of  the  church  in 
that  early  age,  when  every  thing  favored  its  introduction,  and 
in  the  absence  of  any  written  constitution,  or  remaining  records 
of  the  primitive  church  ?  "  This  shows  what  priestcraft  has 
been  able  to  effect  in  changing  the  prescribed  form  of  a  rite ; 
and  let  us  here  add,  that  whether  sprinkling,  pouring,  or  im- 
mersion, is  insisted  on  as  having  in  itself  a  saving  efficacy,  the 
claim  set  up  is  equally  impious  and  absurd.  To  "  believe  and 
be  baptized  "is  undoubtedly  the  duty  which  Christ  has  laid 
equally  on  every  one.  But  to  believe  with  one's  own  mind, 
and  to  be  baptized  according  to  one's  own  conviction  of  duty 
in  view  of  the  teachings  and  example  of  our  Lord,  we  hold  to 
be  duties  equally  clear,  and  indispensable  to  the  full  discharge 
of  the  one  grand  obligation  upon  which  all  true  religion  is 
based- 


248  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

Christians  who  lived  at  the  period  of  the  Lutheran  reforma- 
tion, and  who  caught  a  large  share  of  the  true  spirit  of  Christ, 
were  far  from  thinking  to  analyze  it ;  they  had  yet  to  free 
themselves  and  their  religion  from  the  stifling  encumbrances  of 
ecclesiastical  authority  —  a  task  which  they  never  radically  per- 
formed. All  their  struggles  were  practical,  and  confined  within 
the  sphere  of  the  church ;  all  that  lay  beyond  was  for  them  of 
little  interest,  and  hence  Christianity  to  their  eyes  presented 
but  a  limited  view.  The  moderns  have  attempted  a  more 
exact  definition  of  the  distinctive  character  of  the  gospel,  and 
a  wider  application  of  its  beneficent  influence.  This  has  been 
the  natural  result  of  their  advance  in  historical  and  philosophi- 
cal culture,  which  enables  them  to  perceive  that  Christianity, 
independent,  original,  and  divinely  derived,  is  the  model  of 
purest  republicanism,  the  teacher  of  most  comprehensive  wis- 
dom, and  inspirer  of  the  divinest  life.  Progressive  improve- 
ment will  undoubtedly  still  advance  under  the  direction  of 
merciful  Providence,  until  the  last  priest  shall  have  perished 
with  the  last  anti-scriptural  creed,  and  then  the  whole  dis- 
burdened and  rejoicing  world  may  sing  with  Pollok,  — 

"  0  love  destroying,  cursed  bigotry  ! 
Cursed  in  heaven,  but  cursed  more  in  hell, 
Where  millions  curse  thee,  and  must  ever  curse. 
Religion's  most  abhorred !  perdition's  most 
Forlorn  !  God's  most  abandoned  !  hell's  most  damned  ! 
The  infidel,  who  turned  his  impious  war 
Against  the  walls  of  Zion,  on  the  rock 
Of  ages  built,  and  higher  than  the  clouds, 
Sinned,  and  received  his  due  reward  ;  but  she 
Within  her  walls  sinned  more  :  of  Ignorance 
Begot,  her  daughter,  Persecution,  walked 
The  earth  from  age  to  age,  and  drank  the  blood 
Of  saints,  with  horrid  relish  drank  the  blood 
Of  God's  peculiar  children —  and  was  drunk  ; 
And  in  her  drunkenness  dreamed  of  doing  good. 
The  supplicating  hand  of  innocence, 
That  made  the  tiger  mild,  and  in  his  wrath 
The  lion  pause  —  the  groans  of  suffering  most 


THE    CHURCH   WITHOUT   A    PRIEST.  249 

Severe,  were  nought  to  her :  she  laughed  at  groans : 

No  music  pleased  her  more  ;  and  no  repast 

So  sweet  to  her  as  blood  of  men  redeemed 

By  blood  of  Christ.     Ambition's  self,  though  mad, 

And  nursed  on  human  gore,  with  her  compared, 

Was  merciful.     Nor  did  she  always  rage  : 

She  had  some  hours  of  meditation,  set 

Apart,  wherein  she  to  her  study  went, 

The  inquisition,  model  most  complete 

Of  perfect  wickedness,  where  deeds  were  done,  — 

Deeds  !  let  them  ne'er  be  named,  —  and  sat  and  planned 

Deliberately  and  with  most  musing  pains, 

How,  to  extremest  thrill  of  agony, 

The  flesh,  and  blood,  and  souls  of  holy  men, 

Her  victims,  might  be  wrought ;  and  when  she  saw 

New  tortures  of  her  laboring  fancy  born, 

She  leaped  for  joy,  and  made  great  haste  to  try 

Their  force  —  well  pleased  to  hear  a  deeper  groan." 

In  the  third  place,  let  us  remark  that  priestcraft  is  not  only 
the  product  of  every  age,  and  the  defender  of  every  bigoted 
creed,  but  it  is  also  the  chief  foe  to  Christianity  and  greatest 
curse  to  mankind. 

Christ  came  to  earth  to  establish  thereon  a  church,  not  of 
the  clergy,  but  of  the  people  ;  his  own  true  disciples,  trans- 
formed in  heart  and  divine  in  purpose,  the  conservators  of  all 
excellence,  the  teachers  of  all  truth,  Christian  patriots,  to  reno- 
vate and  bless  their  race.  Having  composed  his  church  of 
those  only  whom  he  had  healed  of  the  worst  malady  and  illumined 
with  the  best  light,  and  in  the  original  organization  having  con- 
structed it  on  the  most  perfect  republican  principles,  Christ 
designed  each  branch  to  be  the  model  and  school  of  perfect 
freedom,  the  Gilead  of  its  district,  and  the  Pharos  of  the 
world. 

Primitive  Christianity  had  something  better  than  a  pedantic 
priesthood  to  lay  its  broad  and  salutary  foundations  after  the 
pattern  revealed  from  heaven  ;  it  had  its  Marks,  as  well  as  its 
Peters;  its  Timothies  as  well  as  its  Pauls.  And  from  the 
apostolic  age,  from  the  morrow  of  the  divine  foundation  of 


250  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

the  church  till  a  long  after  period,  all  historical  monuments 
positively  assert,  that  a  clergy,  properly  so  called,  an  ecclesi- 
astical body  established  upon  the  basis  of  a  hierarchy,  and 
recruiting  its  ranks  according  to  conventional  rules,  did  nowhere 
exist.  The  clerical  office,  with  its  incommunicable  privileges, 
its  pretended  indelibility  and  investiture,  to  whatever  remote- 
ness it  may  presume  to  ascend,  is  far  from  being  as  old  as 
Christianity,  but  began  in  the  degenerate  age  when  the  distinc- 
tion between  priest  and  layman  first  commenced.  It  was  then 
that  our  holy  religion  came  to  be  regarded,  not  as  a  system  of 
free  and  divine  instruction,  but  of  arbitrary  human  dogmas; 
when  knowledge  and  faith  were  theoretical  only,  instead  of 
being  exalted  doctrine  applied  —  practice,  holiness,  love,  life. 
Then,  as  is  ever  the  case  under  like  circumstances,  authority 
was  introduced  into  the  hallowed  sphere  of  Christianity,  to  for- 
tify imbecile  and  hollow  creeds,  and  truth  was  strangely  trans- 
formed into  something  absolute  and  despotic,  to  facilitate  the 
despotism  of  crafty  men.  Having  usurped  the  functions  of  a 
governing  body,  they  gave  a  preponderance  of  the  earthly 
over  the  heavenly  power  of  Christianity,  and  ended  by  decree- 
ing formulas  of  faith  —  forging  those  heavy  chains,  which  in 
some  measure  have  ever  since  kept  the  masses  of  the  world 
under  the  yoke  of  ecclesiastical  dominion. 

The  grand  curse  of  the  day  is  the  inthralment  of  man's 
nobler  nature,  the  sophistication  of  conscience  through  conven- 
tionalism, the  overthrow  of  which  giant  evil  is  destined  to 
evolve  all  the  blessings  which  mental  and  moral  culture  can 
diffuse.  Sacerdotal  dynasties  of  every  order  and  degree  will 
soon  learn  that  the  soul  of  man  is  not  a  frozen  formula,  on  the 
glassy  surface  of  which  they  may  with  impunity  scribble  their 
dictations,  but  a  free,  fervid,  and  fragrant  vitality,  branching 
forth  majestic  aspirations  toward  the  heavens  of  eternal  truth. 
The  world  is  beginning  to  regard  Christianity  in  its  true  light, 
not  fragmentary,  but  as  a  ivhole,  at  once  historical  and  ideal, 
doctrinal  and  practical,  human  and  divine  ;  capable  equally  of 
individual  and  universal  application,  to  be  studied  in  its  origin, 


THE  CHURCH  WITHOUT  A  PRIEST.  251 

its  essential  elements,  the  conditions  of  its  progress  and  cer- 
tainity  of  final  triumph. 

The  true  creative  energy  of  religion,  to  which  now,  as  at 
first,  its  main  influence  is  owing,  consists,  not  in  the  propaga- 
tion of  abstract  ideas,  but  in  legitimate  fruits  of  pious  souls, 
rather  than  in  the  sanctimonious  cantings  of  sectarian  creeds. 
Christianity  is  doctrine,  so  far  as  it  relates  to  the  circumstances 
nnd  divine  revelations  that  signalized  its  birth ;  but  it  is  more 
than  this,  a  testimony,  glad  tidings,  gospel.,  not  in  selfish  axioms 
and  frigid  deductions,  but  by  religious  and  moral  principles 
expanded  in  the  spiritual  consciousness  of  its  recipients,  and 
imbodied  in  beneficent  deeds.  No  doctrine  can  possess  either 
dignity  or  force  apart  from  the  spirit  which  was  first  exemplified 
in  the  life  of  Christ,  and  designed,  in  a  smaller  or  larger  meas- 
ure, to  be  practically  displayed  by  all  who  profess  to  follow  in 
his  steps.  He  who  has  not  erected  a  temple  to  the  Deity  in  his 
own  bosom  will  never  be  a  true  and  holy  worshipper;  and  he 
who  neglects  both  the  example  and  precepts  of  the  Lord,  whose 
disciple  he  professes  to  be,  will  not  fail  to  dishonor  the  profes- 
sion he  has  made. 

One  of  the  most  beautiful  characteristics,  and  one  of  the 
greatest  advantages  of  Christianity,  is  the  independence  of  be- 
lief and  life  which  it  both  requires  and  rewards.  In  the  laby- 
rinth of  existence  in  which  we  all  wander,  not  knowing  whither 
the  brittle  thread  will  lead,  when  or  where  we  may  die,  it 
is  the  blessed  prerogative  of  a  true  Christian,  to  carry  his 
priesthood  always  in  his  own  heart,  feeling  that  redemption  is 
not  bound  to  any  hierarchical  constitution  or  sacerdotal  rite. 
He  believes  that  his  progress  toward  God  will  not  be  arrested 
when  no  longer  accompanied  by  a  human  guide  ;  that  his  chief 
resource  lies  in  recognizing  the  light  of  divine  truth,  and  re- 
membering, with  an  humble,  docile  heart,  that  the  only  priest  we 
are  bound  to  serve  is  the  great  One  who  ever  lives  to  intercede 
for  us  on  high.  The  love  of  such  a  believer  is  derived  from 
his  faith  no  less  than  his  faith  is  nourished  and  purified  by  his 
love.    In  his  faith,  knowledge  and  obedience  are  comprehended 


252  REPUBLICAN   CHRISTIANITY. 

in  delightful  union ;  so  that  these  elements  can  as  little  be 
separated  from  it,  "as  the  light  of  the  fire  from  its  warmth.1' 
The  character  of  a  true  disciple,  like  that  of  his  Lord,  can 
be  very  imperfectly  understood,  if  we  regard  it  as  consisting 
wholly  either  in  morality  or  in  piety  :  it  lies  rather  in  the 
symmetrical  combination  of  the  two  —  in  holiness,  a  life  from, 
and  in,  and /or  God.  This  is  that  creative  and  ennobling  power 
Christ  brought  to  earth  ;  not  a  mere  abstract  theory  of  the  invisi- 
ble world,  but  a  redeeming  influence,  which  awakens  in  its  sub- 
jects a  capacity  for  union  with  God,  and  causes  them  to  radiate 
with  the  genial  effulgence  of  charity  all  around. 

All  true  religion  is  essentially  communion  of  man  with  his 
Maker,  in  which  there  is  but  one  Mediator ;  it  is  that  which 
stands  between  God  and  man,  and  which  in  Christ  blends  both 
in  one.  Such  being  the  relation  between  the  reason  as  well  as 
heart  of  man  and  its  Author,  every  act  of  rational  devotion 
must  not  be  an  artificial  ceremony,  but  a  living  reality,  the 
mutual  operation  of  spirits  finite  and  infinite.  God  must  stoop 
to  communicate  himself  to  the  worshipper  ;  and  he  by  simul- 
taneous act  must  raise  himself  to  God,  and  have  a  conscious- 
ness of  his  presence,  not  in  idea  alone,  but  in  spirit,  power, 
and  love.  But  priestcraft  most  effectually  destroys  this  central 
point  and  chief  glory  of  Christianity,  by  degrading  what  in  it 
is  life,  reality,  and  moral  energy,  to  an  unsatisfactory  specula- 
tion or  hollow  form.  Hence  the  importance  of  our  keeping 
before  us  constantly  and  only  Christ,  the  whole  Christ,  as  he 
was  possessed  by  the  apostles  and  primitive  Christians,  who 
invites  us  to  stand  before  him  independent  of  all  self-constituted 
rabbis,  to  receive  light  for  our  understanding,  joy  for  our  heart, 
guidance  and  support  for  a  temporal  and  eternal  career. 

Life  can  proceed  only  from  life.  The  priest  contrasts  man 
and  God  because  he  wishes  to  make  himself  important  as  a 
messenger  to  a  race  whom  he  represents  as  superlatively 
degraded  ;  but  Christ  came  to  render  every  man  his  own 
priest,  by  inviting  all  to  himself  in  whom  the  human  and  divine 
are  one,  and  teach  us  to  rise  to  heaven  by  developing  heavenly 


THE    CHURCH    WITHOUT   A   PRIEST.  253 

graces  in  ourselves.  Thus  at  the  outset  the  Messiah  demon- 
strated that  his  mission  was  not  to  confuse  and  oppress,  but  to 
teach  and  save.  He  would  vanquish  all  obstacles  to  our  eman- 
cipation from  sin  and  .perpetual  progress  in  holiness,  raising 
feverish  and  fainting  spirits  above  the  skies,  where  Jehovah 
breathes  eternal  blessedness  on  the  sincere,  the  loving,  and  the 
free.  Seeing  man,  the  image  of  God,  trampled  in  the  dust  by 
priestcraft,  that  God  himself,  in  their  estimation,  may  be  fitly 
honored,  the  pitying  Redeemer  comes  to  our  rescue,  and 
imparts  religious  instruction  so  simple  and  yet  potent,  that  the 
least  educated  need  not  err  as  to  its  import,  nor  the  most  sin- 
ful fail  by  its  efficacy  to  be  saved.  The  dead  blank  of  our 
spiritual  night  he  does  not  make  still  more  dubious  by  the 
twinkling  of  a  few  artificial  lights,  but  unveiled  to  every  vision 
Jie  hangs  blazing  on  high  the  great  luminary  that  smiles 
through  every  petty  storm  and  eclipse,  the  king  of  our  spiritual 
planetary  system,  the  God  of  an  ultimately  cloudless  and 
eternal  day. 

Every  person  has  a  vital  interest  in  this  question.  In  order 
that  morality  may  be  free,  faith  must  be  free  also.  If  one  is 
compelled  to  believe,  he  is  also  compelled  to  act.  It  is  impos- 
sible to  conceive  a  being  endowed  with  moral  liberty,  who  does 
not  also  possess  religious  freedom ;  which  is  merely  saying, 
that  a  being  is  really  free  only  when  he  is  free  in  the  whole  of 
his  being.  Christianity,  to  attain  pristine  beauty  and  power 
again,  must  perfect  itself;  not  by  modifying  its  essence, which 
has  been  completely  divine  from  the  beginning,  but  by  disen- 
gaging itself  from  earthly  clogs,  by  emancipating  itself  from 
the  entanglements  of  priestcraft,  which  envelop,  obscure,  and 
degrade  it.  Perfection  in  religious  teaching  is  attained  when 
that  which  constitutes  its  soul  fulmines  through  its  body,  and 
manifests  itself  to  the  gaze  of  all  with  a  sublime  brilliancy, 
like  the  throne  of  God.  This  is  its  nature  and'  only  design. 
Its  two  weapons  of  warfare  are  light  and  love.  From  genera- 
tion to  generation,  its  invitation,  resounding  to  the  Nathaniels 
of  every  land,  is,  Come  and  see  !  Starting  in  the  lowest  vale 
22 


254  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

of  life,  the  ocean  of  Mercy  would  roll  its  flood-tide  abroad  over 
the  earth,  to  renew  the  energies  of  a  fallen  race,  and  bear 
them  upward  on  its  billows  as  they  swell  to  be  immersed  anew 
in  their  divine  source.  But  priestcraft*  is  afraid  of  so  much 
benevolence  here  below.  It  is  as  incapable  of  appreciating  its 
worth  as  of  measuring  its  proportions ;  therefore  it  goes  on 
stupidly  exacting  impossible  duties,  denouncing  impossible  sins, 
confounding  honest  minds  with  conflicting  dogmas,  and  to  the 
utmost  extent  keeping  Christianity  in  leading-strings.  Condor- 
cet  said  truly,  "  Kings  persecute  persons,  priests  opinion. 
Without  kings,  men  must  be  safe ;  and  without  priests,  minds 
must  be  free." 

Christianity  was  strikingly  characterized  by  its  Author  as 
leaven.  This  is  destined  to  put  the  whole  mass  of  mankind 
into  a  state  of  fermentation,  that  it  may  work  itself  clear  of 
all  heterogeneous  grossness,  purge  itself  of  every  form  of  error, 
absurdity,  and  delusion ;  until,  by  this  natural  process,  it  shall 
have  refined  and  clarified  our  race  with  pure  and  profound 
views  of  truth.  Our  eyes,  so  delicately  organized,  and  guarded 
with  so  much  care,  were  not  made  to  be  closed  and  bandaged 
from  the  cradle  to  the  grave,  but  to  gaze  freely  on  the  beauties 
and  sublimities  of  earth,  sea,  and  sky.  The  soul  of  man,  of 
all  men,  pants  to  contemplate  brighter  and  broader  glories  than 
the  natural  vision  can  perceive ;  and  is  there  a  fiend  more 
worthy  of  hell  than  he  who  would  darken  heaven  from  human 
view  ?  Our  business  as  Christians  is  to  throw  wide  open  to  all 
mankind  the  temple  gates  of  Truth.  Her  influence,  when  once 
it  roots  itself  in  the  human  heart,  never  dies :  it  lives,  grows, 
multiplies  itself,  and  becomes  indestructible.  The  laws  which 
guaranty  this  may  be  but  dimly  discerned,  but  their  operation 
is  constant,  potent,  and  universal.  Nothing  is  beneficial  with- 
out this.  "  All  the  great  advances  made  by  society  are  spon- 
taneous movements.  The  positive  benefits  which  have  flowed 
to  man  out  of  the  fount  of  civil  authority  and  law  are  few  and 
comparatively  trivial.  Civilization  owes  far  less  to  political 
instructions  than  they  to  civilization.     Science  has  flourished 


THE  CHURCH  WITHOUT  A  PRIEST.  255 

without  the  aid  of  law.  Morality  has  purged  itself  of  gross 
admixtures,  and  manners  have  passed  through  many  revolu- 
tions, and  refinement  has  reached  its  present  pitch,  and  litera- 
ture has  spread  abroad  its  blessings,  not  by  means,  but  often  in 
spite,  of  legislative  interposition.  And  why  not  religion  ?  Is 
it  not,  when  once  fairly  planted  in  the  human  heart,  the  most 
powerful  of  all  impulses  ?  Does  it  not  incessantly  yearn  to 
multiply  itself?  Are  not  all  its  tendencies  to  increase,  to  repro- 
duction, to  universality  ?  Can  it  exist  and  be  silent  ?  Can  it 
shake  hands  with  indifference,  or  take  home  to  its  bosom  a 
careless  negligence  of  others'  welfare  ?  Die  !  It  was  not  born 
to  die.  It  is  immortal.  Nominalism  may  die  —  hypocrisy 
may  give  up  the  ghost.  Priestly  pretences,  wearing  the  guise 
of  Christianity,  may  want  the  factitious  support  derived  from 
state  enactments.  But  an  enlightened  apprehension  and  a  cor- 
dial love  of  revealed  truth  will,  up  to  the  measure  of  its  own 
existence,  not  only  continue  to  live,  but  to  work.  Safely  may 
it  be  left  to  its  own  noble  impulses.  It  can  neither  dwindle 
nor  decay.  And  if,  at  times,  it  disappears  from  the  surface,  it 
is  only,  like  streams  working  their  way  through  a  subterra- 
neous passage,  to  emerge  again  from  obscurity  in  greater  clear- 
ness, in  larger  breadth,  in  yet  augmented  power." 

Of  all  the  contemptible  efforts  of  modern  priestcraft,  none 
can  exceed  in  absurdity  that  which  complacently  eradicates 
from  man  the  diviner  half  of  his  nature,  and  then  proceeds 
to  coerce  the  other  half  into  the  reception  of  its  own  husky 
dogmas,  as  the  only  food  on  which  an  immortal  creature 
should  feed.  Reason  and  free  will  are  strangled  or  denied, 
that  a  despotic  system  may  be  substituted  in  their  place.  The 
soul  is  killed  to  save  the  body.  Truth,  God's  own  word,  as  a 
great,  earnest,  awful  reality,  is  kept  out  of  sight,  and  the  mis- 
erable victim  is  dwarfed  into  the  pigmy  proportions  of  the  puny 
creed  in  which  his  cramped  faculties  are  bound. 

Bigotry  is  not  the  vice  of  a  peculiar  sect,  but  of  every 
ruling  party.  Luther  and  his  confederates  imitated  the  powers 
of  Rome  in  intolerance,  as  soon  as  they  possessed  the  means. 


256  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

Says  D'Aubigne,  "  It  was  Luther,  that  great  man  of  God,  who, 
in  this,  as  in  every  thing  else,  advanced  at  the  head  of  his 
church.  When,  in  1527,  the  Reformed  pleaded  for  brotherly 
love  and  Christian  concord,  he  answered, '  Be  such  charity  and 
unity  cursed,  even  to  the  bottomless  depths  of  hell.'  He  him- 
self relates  to  one  of  his  friends  that,  at  the  conference  con- 
voked at  Marburg  by  the  landgrave  of  Hesse,  to  unite  the 
Lutherans  and  the  Reformed,  Zwingle,  moved  to  tears,  ap- 
proached him,  saying, '  There  are  no  men  on  earth  with  whom 
I  so  much  desire  to  be  united  as  with  the  Wittembergers.' 
And  Luther  repulsed  the  Zurich  reformer,  answering,  4  Your 
spirit  is  not  our  spirit,'  and  refused  to  acknowledge  Zwingle 
and  the  Swiss  as  his  brethren. 

"  Since  that  day,  a  sectarian  spirit  has  always  pervaded 
Lulheranism.  When,  in  1553,  the  unhappy  Reformed  were 
driven  from  London  by  the  unfeeling  order  of  bloody  Mary, 
they  were  cruelly  repulsed,  in  the  midst  of  winter,  by  the 
advice  of  the  Lutheran  theologians,  from  the  walls  of  Copen- 
hagen, of  Rostock,  of  Liibeck,  and  of  Hamburg,  where  they 
asked  for  shelter.  '  Better  Papists  than  Calvinists,'  said  they  ; 
1  better  Mohammedans  than  Reformed.'  " 

Viewed  as  a  whole,  we  hold  Luther's  influence  in  high 
esteem  ;  but  some  portions  of  his  creed  and  conduct  have 
doubtless  entailed  much  wrong  on  mankind.  When  Erasmus 
defended  the  existence  and  obligations  of  free  will,  the  prophet 
of  Wntemberg  exclaimed,  "No;  in  that  which  concerns  God, 
in  that  which  relates  either  to  salvation  or  damnation,  man  has 
no  freedom.  He  is  subjugated  to  the  will  of  God,  or  that  of 
Satan;  he  is  chained  and  a  slave."  (Subjectus  et  servus  est 
vel  voluntatis  Dei,  vel  voluntatis  Satance.)  This  is  bad  enough 
belief,  surely.  His  worse  conduct,  pei'haps,  is  portrayed  in  the 
following  extract  from  the  works  of  W.  J.  Fox,  now  of  the 
British  parliament :  — 

"  He  had  published  an  eloquent  tract  on  Christian  liberty. 
This  work  found  its  way,  as  such  tenets,  when  once  broached, 
will  ever  do,  into  other  quarters  than  those  for  which  it  was 


THE    CHURCH    WITHOUT   A   PRIEST.  257 

originally  intended.  It  obtained  circulation  amongst  the  peas* 
antry  of  Westphalia,  Suabia,  and  the  provinces  adjoining  the 
Rhine.  These  peasants  were  just  in  the  condition  of  men 
whose  ears  would  tingle  at  the  very  word  liberty,  whether 
Christian  or  otherwise.  In  their  politically  degraded  state,  it 
must  have  sounded  to  them  as  enchantingly  as  Paradise  or 
Utopia  would  to  others.  They  were  at  that  time  ground  down 
under  the  horrible  feudal  system.  The  great  bulk  of  them 
were  slaves,  who  were  bought  and  sold  like  any  other  market- 
able article  ;  a  class  whom  their  masters  multiplied  systemati- 
cally, by  breeding,  as  jockeys  do  their  horses,  and  with  as  little 
regard  to  the  preference  of  the  parties  themselves.  Their 
masters  might  wound  and  maim  them  at  pleasure,  and  kill  them 
with  impunity,  if  the  murder  was  not  complained  of  within  a 
day  ;  and,  even  when  that  happened  to  be  the  case,  the  offence 
was  only  punished  by  the  payment  of  a  small  pecuniary  fine. 
The  farmers  and  peasants  were  scarcely  in  a  better  condition 
than  the  slaves.  They  were  subjected  to  those  horrible  imposts 
which  have  always  been  associated  with  the  name  of  the  feudal 
system.  At  the  best,  they  could  merely  earn  for  themselves, 
out  of  the  soil,  a  wretched  pittance,  just  sufficient  for  their  sup- 
port ;  all  the  residue  went  to  their  lords.  Their  state  was  such, 
that,  if  a  farmer  was  taken  ill,  no  one  connected  with  his  farm 
would  work  a  stroke  more,  knowing  very  well  that,  if  the  mas- 
ter died,  whatever  was  in  his  house  or  upon  his  farm  would  be 
forthwith  seized  upon  under  pretence  of  arrears  for  rent,  or 
fines  and  payments  due  to  the  lord  upon  passage  of  the  farm 
from  one  tenant  to  another.  The  little  miserable  protection 
which  the  laboring  people,  slaves,  and  peasantry  had,  was  only 
a  kind  of  game-law  regulation,  to  keep  their  proprietors  from 
interfering  with  each  other's  property,  and  had  no  regard  what- 
ever to  the  parties  for  whose  benefit  they  nominally  existed. 
This  complicated  oppression  was  too  much  for  human  nature  to 
bear,  especially  when  these  victims  of  tyranny  found,  in  Martin 
Luther's  tract,  that  there  was  such  a  thing  in  the  world  as  lib- 
erty. They  began  to  consult  together  whether  they  might  not 
22* 


258  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

have  a  little  of  this  same  good  thing  for  themselves,  in  their 
social  condition  as  well  as  in  their  theological  opinions.  This 
intercommunication  led  to  cooperation  among  them,  and,  at 
length,  they  mustered  300,000  men.  Having  attained  this 
strength,  they  issued  a  manifesto,  claiming  the  right  of  com- 
monage, and  some  of  the  most  simple  and  elementary  privi- 
leges which  are  due  to  humanity,  in  a  tone  and  temper,  a  spirit 
of  reason  and  moderation,  which  induced  Voltaire  to  say  that 
their  manifesto  would  not  have  been  unworthy  of  the  signature 
of  Lycurgus.  In  this  state  of  things  Luther  was  applied  to. 
He  first  strongly  advised  the  lords  to  be  humane,  then  recom- 
mended the  slaves  to  be  obedient ;  but,  as  neither  the  one  party 
nor  the  other  appeared  disposed  to  adopt  this  advice,  —  and 
certainly  it  could  not  be  expected  that  the  vassals  should  return 
to  obedience  while  the  lords  showed  no  symptoms  of  returning 
humanity,  —  why,  then  Luther  first  rebuked  them  both,  and 
afterwards  advised  the  princes  of  Germany  to  unite  in  their 
strength  to  put  down  the  insubordination.  No  doubt  excesses 
were  perpetrated  by  this  people  ;  history  has  not  spared  them  ; 
history  never  spares  the  faults  or  excesses  of  democracy,  or  of 
unsuccessful  insurrection ;  the  reason  for  which  fact  may  be 
found  in  the  connections  and  partialities  of  those  by  whom  his- 
tory has  usually  been  writen.  A  very  great  part  of  the  alleged 
excesses  of  the  Anabaptists  of  Munster,  as  they  have  been 
called,  because  a  number  of  them  were  identified  with  the  plain 
and  homely  flocks  of  the  Baptists  of  Germany,  have,  beyond 
all  doubt,  been  grossly  exaggerated,  piled  up  in  heaps  before 
the  world,  who  have  been  taught  to  look  back  upon  them  as  the 
most  outrageous  enthusiasts  and  fanatics  that  ever  scourged 
mankind  or  disgraced  the  face  of  the  earth.  Yet,  if  we  go  to 
the  original  document  from  which  they  started,  it  is  plain  that 
this  was  only  one  portion  of  that  great  serf  movement  through- 
out Europe  which  took  place  about  that  period  ;  the  feudal 
system  being  found  every  where  so  intolerable  that  the  serfs, 
like  trodden  worms,  writhed  and  rose  against  the  oppression, 
having  a  glimmering  and  indistinct  perception,  but  vet  to  them 


THE  CHURCH  WITHOUT  A  PRIEST.  259 

an  animating  one,  of  a  better  state  of  things,  wherein  the  equal 
value  of  each  human  being,  and  the  just  rights  of  humanity, 
should  be  acknowledged  by  all." 

Civil  and  religious  freedom  were  never  designed  to  flow  in 
two  separate  channels.  Those  who,  in  every  age,  take  sides 
with  the  best  and  broadest  interests  of  the  people,  defend  this 
point  as  fundamental,  while  time-serving  and  sycophantic 
priests  always  oppose  it.  Every  man  is  to  be  esteemed  who 
honestly  endeavors  to  give  a  reason  for  his  belief,  and  claims 
the  freedom  of  its  peaceful  enjoyment,  however  mistaken  or 
absurd  he  may  be.  To  despise  the  intellect  of  another,  to  hint 
his  want  of  integrity,  or  to  ridicule  his  convictions  of  right,  is 
but  poor  evidence  either  of  philosophical  judgment  or  Christian 
charity.  The  spirit  that  leagued  with  an  emperor  and  excited 
him  to  murder  the  Anabaptists  of  Munster,  burned  Servetus  at 
Geneva,  hunted  Roger  Williams  beyond  the  boundaries  of  civ- 
ilization with  no  less  savage  rage,  persecuted  the  elder  Carroll 
in  Maryland,  and  more  recently  burned  the  convent  at  Charles- 
town,  as  well  as  the  churches  of  Philadelphia,  is  part  and  par- 
cel of  the  bigoted  priestcraft  that  dug  the  prisons  of  Venice 
and  erected  the  inquisition  in  Spain.  Milton  had  good  reason 
for  asserting  that  "  Presbyter  is  but  old  priest  writ  large."  The 
Hildebrands  of  Rome  may  soon  become  obsolete  ;  but  we  fear 
that  it  will  take  much  longer  to  extirpate  the  u  parish  popes," 
who  call  themselves  Protestant,  and  under  whose  benignant 
sway  millions  of  the  spiritually  oppressed  have  had  occasion  to 
declare,  as  was  said  of  the  ancient  Baptists  of  Germany,  when 
some  one  doubted  whether  they  really  knew  what  "  church 
authority  meant :  '  O,  yes,'  replied  a  Catholic  divine  ;  <  they 
know  what  church  authority  is,  just  as  a  dog  knows  a  stick.'  " 

Pastors  who  rise  from  the  people,  are  chosen  and  sustained 
by  the  free  suffrages  of  the  people,  while  they  toil  magnani- 
mously for  the  greatest  good  of  the  greatest  number,  are  un- 
doubtedly among  the  best  instrumentalities  for  promoting  the 
general  and  highest  good.  On  the  contrary,  a  priesthood  edu- 
cated apart  from  and  arbitrarily  imposed  upon  the  masses  are 


260  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

the  greatest  obstacle  to  their  progress,  because  they  are  them- 
selves sworn  to  think  only  certain  things,  which  are  prescribed 
for  them,  having  begun  their  subscription  to  articles  and  creeds, 
which  subscription  has  to  be  renewed  with  every  preferment 
they  truckle  for,  and  every  prerogative  of  oppression  they  ob- 
tain. Such  training  and  such  relations  are  hostile  to  progress 
in  every  department  of  social  improvement  and  public  enter- 
prise. It  is  in  direct  conflict  with  whatever  principles  belong 
to  the  best  interests  of  humanity ;  for  those  interests  are  inti- 
mately allied  to  the  largest  freedom  and  most  unobstructed 
advancement.  But  attempts  to  effect  the  permanent  thraldom 
of  mankind,  however  cunning  and  fortified  with  power  they 
be,  cannot  longer  succeed.  The  mind  and  heart  of  the  nations 
are  arousing.  Catholic  priests  withhold  the  communion  cup 
from  the  laity,  and  Protestant  priests  arrogate  the  right  of  secret 
legislation  over  the  household  of  faith,  both  classes  uniting  to 
make  the  sources  of  religious  emotion  and  divine  grace  special 
monopolies  limited  to  their  own  cliques.  The  people,  however, 
are  coming  to  search  after  truth  for  themselves,  make  their 
own  regulations  in  moral  affairs  as  in  civil,  bow  in  base  vassal- 
age to  no  human  creed,  swear  allegiance  to  no  selfish  interces- 
sor, but  take  God's  word  as  their  only  guide,  and  Christ  as  their 
only  Lord. 

Liberty  is  the  word  inscribed  on  the  banner  of  modern  civ- 
ilization, and  is  destined  soon  to  shine  still  brighter  on  the  ban- 
ner of  the  world's  Christianization.  The  soul  of  man  demands 
free  air  to  breathe,  a  wide  and  lofty  area  whereon  to  expand 
its  faculties,  and  will  remain  no  longer  cramped.  The  Bible, 
fairly  opened  and  fully  translated  before  all  ranks  and  condi- 
tions of  mankind,  with  one  Spirit  to  teach  and  one  Mediator  to 
atone  and  intercede,  is  the  highest  boon  we  can  possess ;  and 
this,  it  is  certain,  the  whole  world  will  soon  enjoy.  Providence 
is  loudly  proclaiming  that  the  shepherd  was  made  for  his  flock, 
not  the  flock  for  the  shepherd.  Crumbling  thrones,  dispersed 
dynasties,  rending  chains  and  exploding  revolutions  in  every 
zone,  proclaim  in  tones  of  thunder,  "  God  hath  made  of  one 


THE  CHURCH  WITHOUT  AN  ARISTOCRAT.        261 

blood,  and  for  the  enjoyment  of  equal  rights,  all  nations  who 
dwell  upon  the  face  of  the  earth."  The  reverberations  of  this 
celestial  proclamation  will  continue  to  roll  onward  with  deep-- 
ening  tones,  amid  the  blazings  of  still  brighter  splendors,  till 
the  human  mind  shall  endure  no  fetter,  and  the  church  of  Christ 
crouch  to  no  priest. 


CHAPTER    V. 

THE    CHURCH    WITHOUT    AN    ARISTOCRAT. 

We  have  traced  some  of  the  baleful  influences  which  encum- 
ber and  degrade  Christianity  when  subjected  to  the  control  of 
kings,  popes,  bishops,  or  priests.  In  this  last  discussion  of  the 
present  series,  we  propose  to  consider  the  church  without  an 
aristocrat.  We  hold  that  aristocracy  was  the  first  foe  of  the 
church,  has  ever  been  but  a  hypocritical  friend,  and  is  a  per- 
petual impediment  as  well  as  consummate  disgrace. 

The  first  and  greatest  foe  Christianity  encountered  was  aris- 
tocratic malignity  and  contempt.  To  meet  and  subdue  this  at 
the  outset,  our  Savior  proclaimed  the  universal  law  of  human 
relationship,  and,  at  a  single  stroke,  reduced  all  mankind  to  one 
level.  He  recognized  no  higher  personage  in  morals  than  our 
"  neighbor,"  no  other  rule  of  conduct  than  love,  and  taught 
that,  when  we  have  discharged  this  duty  to  our  "  neighbor,"  we 
have  fulfilled  our  obligation  to  all  mankind ;  for  we  can  owe 
our  equals  neither  the  allegiance  of  flattery  nor  any  service 
that  is  constrained.  Christ  was  the  first  to  declare  all  men 
royal  compeers  and  nobles  by  nature,  each  one  sent  on  earth 
to  do  that  for  which  he  is  fitted,  and,  with  noble  independence, 
to  fill  the  niche  he  was  ordained  to  fill.  In  tones  that  "  open 
every  cell  where  memory  sleeps,"  he  would  have  man  speak 
to  his  brother  man  with  magnanimous  esteem  as  a  sovereign 
like  himself,  and  never  pour  forth  libations  to  church  and  state, 


262  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

or  seek  to  hold  the  appointment  of  priests  to  offer  fulsome  sac- 
rifices and  obsequious  oblations. 

All  who  listen  to  other  words,  or  follow  the  dictates  of 
authority  less  exalted,  are  "after  ill  example  gone  astray." 
"  One  is  not  born,"  said  he  whom  principle  and  nature  made  a 
republican,  but  circumstances  and  ambition  an  emperor,  —  "  one 
is  not  born  with  a  boot  on  his  leg,  and  another  with  a  pack- 
saddle  on  his  back.  There  are  no  naked  kings  ;  they  must  all 
be  dressed."  We  enter  upon  the  present  existence  invested 
with  certain  inalienable  rights,  which  constitute  natural  liberty  ; 
if  we  are  components  of  a  true  republic,  the  enjoyment  of  our 
inherent  rights  is  guarantied  by  righteous  laws ;  and  this  is  civil 
liberty.  Civil  liberty  is  natural  liberty  established  and  pro- 
tected upon  fixed  principles  by  equitable  government,  the  right- 
ful possession  of  all  mankind,  to  bestow  which  in  the  highest 
and  purest  form  is  the  grand  prerogative  of  Christianity  alone. 
Cicero  defined  a  republic  to  be  "  the  union  of  a  multitude, 
cemented  by  an  agreement  in  what  is  right,  and  a  participation 
in  what  is  useful."  Christ  announced  the  eternal  law  of  true 
social  and  national  organizations  more  definitely  and  divinely 
when  he  proclaimed  that  but  one  is  our  Master,  and  all  we  are 
brethren.  Never,  for  one  moment,  are  we  to  stand  in  awe 
before  presumptuous  rulers,  civil  or  religious,  "  alien  from 
heaven,  with  passions  foul  obscured  ; "  but  reverence  and  obey 
only  the  almighty  King,  "  who  was  on  earth  for  our  sakes  cru- 
cified." 

Truth,  even  the  most  abstract,  invariably  becomes  the 
object  of  hatred,  whenever  practical  virtue  is  not  the  object 
of  love ;  and  as  hatred,  by  its  intrinsic  nature,  is  destructive, 
in  the  same  manner  as  love  is  conservative,  man,  brutalized 
by  sensuality,  and  given  up  to  physical  pleasures,  naturally 
becomes  a  hateful  destroyer.  His  obdurate  soul  gloats  over 
spectacles  of  ruin  and  blood,  while  he  confirms  barbarous 
tastes  and  ferocious  habits :  hence  it  is  remarkable  that  all 
people  who  are  incredulous  or  impious  are  voluptuaries,  and 
the  voluptuous   are  always  cruel.     As  a  primary  example, 


THE    CHURCH    WITHOUT   AN   ARISTOCRAT.  263 

look  at  pagan  nations  :  what  forgetfulness  of  humanity  in  war 
as  in  peace,  in  laws  as  in  customs,  in  their  temples  as  at  the 
theatre,  in  the  heart  of  the  father  as  in  that  of  a  tyrant  with 
his  scourge !  Under  such  circumstances,  what  abject  materi- 
alism do  we  see  in  religion,  and  what  aversion  to  those  doc- 
trines which  tend  to  elevate  men  and  spiritualize  their 
thoughts  !  Polished  and  erudite  Greece  condemned  Socrates 
to  martyrdom  because  he  despised  the  gross  superstitions  of 
his  country;  and  those  same  refined  patrician  Greeks, 
crowned  with  flowers  and  singing  exquisite  songs,  strangled 
human  victims,  and  covered  their  territory  with  altars  the 
most  infamous. 

Always  the  aristocratical  subjugation  of  soul  to  sense  pro- 
duces haughty  opposition  to  the  noblest  intellectual  and  moral 
truths,  and  is  the  only  explanation  we  need  seek  for  the 
profound  hatred  which,  in  all  ages,  certain  nations  and  ranks 
have  manifested  toward  the  example  and  doctrines  of  Christ. 
It  is  the  perpetual  and  deadly  conflict  of  the  flesh  against 
the  spirit.  The  one  would  degrade  and  destroy ;  the  other 
tends  constantly  to  enfranchise,  enlighten,  and  render  divine, 
through  those  precepts  and  influences  which  are  the  aggregate 
and  manifestation  of  all  the  truths  useful  to  mankind.  When 
Christianity  first  appeared,  the  human  race  were  universally 
involved  in  the  grossest  sensuality.  What  little  worship 
remained  on  earth  was  but  an  empty  phantom,  allied  to  no 
substantial  belief,  but  a  mere  ceremony  preserved  by  habit, 
because  of  its  ostentatious  pomp  suited  to  lascivious  festivals, 
and,  above  all,  because  of  its  relation  to  civil  institutions. 
The  religion  of  that  age  inspired  neither  faith  nor  veneration. 
The  sages  and  grandees,  who  first  produced  the  degeneracy 
they  could  but  despise,  committed  religion  to  the  masses  with 
contempt,  who,  less  corrupt  than  the  aristocrats,  still  contin- 
ued to  imagine,  even  in  ignoble  emblems,  something  divine. 
Nevertheless,  there  existed  really  no  other  religion  than  that 
of  voluptuousness  ;  and  the  sects  most  sincere  at  first,  degen- 
erated rapidly  into  factitious  austerity,  and,  by  a  confusion  of 


264  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

ideas,  which  passed  into  current  language,  went  even  so  far 
as  to  identify  virtue  with  pleasure. 

The  "  upper  classes,"  as  they  are  usually  termed,  but  really 
the  most  degraded,  and  who  have  ever  demonstrated  their 
superiority  only  by  standing  aloof  from  the  greatest  good  of 
the  greatest  number,  as  they  were  the  most  active  corrupters 
of  ancient  religions,  so  were  they  the  most  malignant  foes  to 
Christianity,  from  the  first.  All  who  have  sacrificed  their 
worldly  interests  and  comfort  for  the  good  of  their  fellow- 
men,  and  been  impelled  to  painful  efforts  by  no  motive  but 
love  to  God  and  his  creatures,  are  viewed  and  treated  by  them 
in  every  age  as  the  vilest  criminals,  and  as  enemies  to  their 
arrogant  prerogatives.  The  aristocrats  of  Judea,  under  the 
pretence  of  patriotism,  entreated  that  Jeremiah  might  be  put 
to  death,  because  "  he  weakened  the  hands  of  the  men  of  war, 
and  of  all  the  people;"  of  Paul  they  said,  "  We  have  found 
this  man  a  pestilent  fellow \  and  a  mover  of  sedition  ;"  and  of 
Christ  himself,  "  We  found  this  fellow  perverting  the  nation." 
But  the  teachers  of  truth  and  freedom  the  most  divine  perse- 
vere in  their  beneficent  enterprise,  knowing  that  the  love  of 
liberty,  turbulent  though  it  be  deemed  by  exclusive  circles, 
has  so  much  affinity  to  law,  and  so  wholesome  a  jealousy 
of  force,  that,  if  generously  treated,  it  composes  in  the  end 
popular  disorders,  and  confers  the  widest  and  most  salutary 
blessings  on  all.  When  Christianity  shall  come  at  length  to 
pour  its  tide  of  sacred  republicanism  through  the  chief  arteries 
of  the  body  politic,  it  will  impart  healthful  action  to  limbs 
long  palsied  by  the  inactivity  which  tyranny  has  produced, 
and  elevate  the  masses  into  the  gladsome  possession  of  those 
functions  of  wThich  all  have  need.  Says  Sir  James  Mackin- 
tosh, "  The  generous  sentiments  of  natural  equality  are  so 
deeply  engraven  on  the  human  heart,  and  so  inseparably 
blended  with  the  dictates  of  reason  and  conscience,  that  no 
appeal  to  them  can  be  wholly  vain  ;  their  power  over  those 
who  grievously  suffer  from  their  violation  never  can  cease  to 
be  great." 


THE  CHURCH  WITHOUT  AN  ARISTOCRAT.        265 

The  ancient  republics  were  much  more  aristocratic  than 
democratic  in  the  form  and  spirit  of  their  institutions.  The  mass 
of  the  people  were  slaves  ;  and  those  that  were  nominally  free, 
with  a  few  exceptions,  were  excluded  from  popular  influence 
and  power.  The  few  were  as  entirely  the  masters,  as  autocrats 
and  priests  were  in  Persia  and  Egypt.  Petty  tyrants  rose  up 
with  blasphemous  pretensions  to  the  right  of  excluding  their 
fellow-men  from  the  bountiful  repast  of  providence  and  grace. 
In  their  despotic  lust  of  possession,  they  were  eager  then,  as 
now,  to  monopolize  the  popular  share  ;  or,  worse  still,  they 
would  frighten  or  coerce  the  common  people  to  forsake  the 
exalted  privileges  which  Heaven  designed  all  equally  to  grasp 
and  enjoy.  These  are  the  persons 'whose  character,  conduct, 
and  fearful  destiny,  are  so  strikingly  described  by  our  Lord, 
whose  equalizing  spirit  and  ennobling  doctrines  they  always 
so  much  hate.  The  true  Light  "  came  unto  his  own,  and  his 
own  received  him  not."  "  I  am  come  in  my  Father's  name, 
and  ye  receive  me  not :  if  another  shall  come  in  his  own 
name,  him  ye  will  receive."  "  Woe  unto  you,  Scribes  and 
Pharisees,  hypocrites !  for  you  shut  up  the  kingdom  of 
heaven  against  men :  woe  unto  you,  lawyers !  for  ye  have 
taken  away  the  key  of  knowledge ;  for  ye  neither  go  in  your- 
selves, neither  suffer  ye  them  that  are  entering  to  go  in." 
"  Ye  generation  of  vipers,  how  can  ye  escape  the  damnation 
of  hell  ?  "  And  when  some  well-disposed  listeners  inquired 
of  the  apostles,  "  Men  and  brethren,  what  shall  we  do  ? " 
they  were  obliged  to  reply,  "  Save  yourselves  from  this  unto- 
ward generation."  Arrogant  and  hypocritical  aristocrats  were 
Christ's  most  malignant  adversaries,  and  the  worst  obstacles 
which  the  apostles  met. 

It  is  recorded  of  Cornelia,  the  noble  mother  of  the  Gracchi, 
that,  on  a  certain  occasion,  when  some  vulgar  and  haughty 
gossip  boasted  of  worldly  wealth,  ornaments,  and  power,  she 
proudly  and  magnanimously  cried,  pointing  to  her  children, 
some  of  them  the  future  saviors  of  Rome  from  aristocratic 
thraldom,  "  These  are  my  jewels,"  Thus  of  the  true  church 
23 


266  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

of  Christ,  the  mother  of  all  exalted  virtues,  patriotic,  civiliz- 
ing, and  saving.  Her  brightest  ornaments  are  they  who 
recognize  the  great  brotherhood  of  the  human  race,  who 
labor  to  break  down  all  iniquitous  oppression,  and  to  raise  all 
to  a  like  participation  of  unclouded  light  and  undistinguished 
love.     Says  Pollok, — 

"  '  He  was  the  freeman  whom  the  truth  made  free ; ' —  k 
Who  first  of  all  the  bands  of  Satan  broke ; 
Who  broke  the  bands  of  Sin ;  and  for  his  soul, 
In  spite  of  fools,  consulted  seriously ; 
In  spite  of  fashion  persevered  in  good ; 
In  spite  of  wealth  or  poverty,  upright ; 
Who  did  as  reason,  not  as  fancy,  bade ; 
Who  heard  temptation  sing,  and  yet  turned  not 
Aside ;  saw  Sin  bedeck  her  flowery  bed, 
And  yet  would  not  go  up  ;  felt  at  his  heart 
The  sword  unsheathed,  yet  would  not  sell  the  truth ; 
Who,  having  power,  had  not  the  will  to  hurt ; 
Who  blushed  alike  to  be,  or  have,  a  slave  ; 
Who  blushed  at  nought  but  sin,  feared  nought  but  God ; 
Who,  finally,  in  strong  integrity 
Of  soul,  'midst  want,  or  riches,  or  disgrace, 
Uplifted  calmly  sat,  and  heard  the  waves 
Of  stormy  folly  breaking  at  his  feet ; 
Now  shrill  with  praise,  now  hoarse  with  foul  reproach, 
And  both  despised  sincerely  ;  seeking  this 
Alone  —  the  approbation  of  his  God, 
Which  still  with  conscience  witnessed  to  his  peace. 
This,  this  is  freedom,  such  as  angels  use, 
And  kindred  to  the  liberty  of  God. 
First-born  of  Virtue  !  daughter  of  the  skies  ! 
The  man,  the  state  in  whom  she  ruled,  Avas  free ; 
All  else  were  slaves  of  Satan,  Sin,  and  Death." 

Secondly,  aristocracy  was  not  only  the  first  foe  of  the 
church,  but  has  ever  remained,  at  best,  but  a  hypocritical 
friend. 

The  true  principles  of  republican  Christianity  do  not  con- 
sist in  degrading  the  higher  ranks  to  the  lowest,  but  in  elevat- 
ing the  greatest  possible  number  to  the  highest  standard  of 


THE  CHURCH  WITHOUT  AN  ARISTOCRAT.        267 

independence  and  intelligence.  Hence  the  divine  Author  of 
our  faith,  when  rebuking  the  Scribes  and  Pharisees,  demanded 
of  them  the  exercise  of  charity,  liberty,  and  light,  toward 
every  human  being,  because  these  would  guaranty  perfecti- 
bility to  religious  institutions,  and  impart  to  them  an  invincible 
force.  That  which  is  most  needed  to  promote  human  welfare, 
is  a  bold  and  independent  spirit  of  inquiry,  which  will  seize 
on  all  classes,  and  sift  every  question  of  political  or  religious 
right  to  its  last  analysis.  Every  mind  needs  something  which 
is  more  reasonable  than  coercion,  and  less  dubious  than 
priestly  dialectics ;  and  this  our  greatest  necessity  is  abun- 
dantly supplied  by  the  doctrines  of  Christ,  which  impart  to 
every  honest  inquirer  too  much  light  to  suffer  him  long  to 
remain  the  dupe  of  either  force  or  fraud.  Despotism,  dis- 
guised under  martial  or  sacerdotal  forms,  for  thousands  of 
years,  was  the  chief  means  resorted  to  to  govern  the  world. 
But,  in  Christianity,  the  discovery  has  been  made,  that  the 
agency  which  is  at  once  the  most  powerful  and  salutary  in 
its  operation,  consists  in  that  inward  spiritual  force  which 
prompts  the  best  private  virtues  and*  generates  the  freest  and 
most  beneficent  public  opinion.  The  tendency  of  this  is  to 
draw  light  from  every  source  it  can  reach,  and  concentrate 
all  the  rays  it  accumulates  upon  the  best  interests  it  can 
promote. 

The  men  who  most  perseveringly  oppose  this  heavenly 
influence  are  they  who  plead  "  the  right  divine  "  for  kings, 
popes,  bishops,  or  priests  to  govern  wrong.  They  throw 
before  the  people  "  an  infinity  of  impertinent  and  vain  things," 
and  corrupt  the  popular  mind  and  heart  through  the  distorted 
dogmas  of  their  own  misguided  wills.  They  are  "  Jove's 
satellites  much  less  than  Jove,"  but  full  of  pagan  adoration  at 
the  footstool  of  the  worldly  great.  The  drapery  around  the 
seats  of  prelatical  and  regal  power  is  almost  always  crimson, 
as  if  yet  wet  with  blood,  and  aristocrats  have  a  strong  affinity 
for  that.  But  they  never  averted  a  great  danger  nor  pro- 
moted a  great  good.     They  are  ever  ready  to  deprive  their 


268  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

fellow-men  of  that  feeling  of  infinity,  without  which  nothing 
grand  is  accomplished,  and  no  lofty  height  attained  ;  but  to 
aid  in  such  tasks  suits  neither  their  talents  nor  ambition.  The 
character  of  such  base  sycophants  is  well  described  by  Milton : 
"  A  king  must  be  adored  like  a  demigod,  with  a  dissolute 
and  haughty  court  about  him,  of  vast  expense  and  luxury, 
masks  and  revels,  to  the  debauching  of  our  prime  gentry, 
both  male  and  female  ...  to  the  multiplying  of  a  ser- 
vile crew,  not  of  servants  only,  but  of  nobility  and  gentry, 
bred  up  then  to  the  hopes,  not  of  public,  but  of  court  offices, 
to  be  stewards,  chamberlains,  ushers,  grooms  ;  .  .  .  and 
the  lower  their  minds,  debased  with  court  opinions,  contrary 
to  all  virtue  and  reformation,  the  haughtier  will  be  their  pride 
and  profusion." 

The  Christian  and  republican  bard  of  Paradise  Lost  had 
witnessed  enough  of  aristocratic  meanness  and  oppression  to 
make  him  denounce  it  in  strong  terms.  For  instance,  when 
Richard  Cromwell  fled  before  popular  rebellion,  he  took  with 
him  two  large  trunks  full  of  those  addresses  and  congratulations, 
customary  with  all  servile  creatures,  in  honor  of  those  who 
possess  and  pervert  the  uses  of  power.  In  these  addresses 
he  was  told  that  God  had  given  him  the  supreme  authority 
for  the  happiness  of  the  three  kingdoms.  "■  What  have  you 
in  those  trunks  ? "  said  some  one  to  him.  "  The  happiness 
of  the  English  nation,"  he  replied  with  a  laugh.  Such  jeer- 
ing and  mockery  constitute  the  most  sacred  solicitude  ever 
felt  by  aristocracies  and  their  pets  for  the  suffering  masses 
of  mankind.  The  Bible  tells  us  of  a  certain  king  who  lived 
a  wild  beast  in  the  woods  seven  years,  and  then  re-assumed 
the  human  form.  It  has  often  happened  that  such  is  the  lot 
of  the  people.  For  seven  years  they  are  the  ferocious  beast, 
and  then  they  become  men.  But  their  madness  has  been 
produced  by  the  regal  wrongs  they  have  endured,  and  revolu- 
tions are  beginning  to  metamorphose  their  condition,  as  well 
as  elevate  their  hopes. 

There  are  moral  tories  all  over  the  world,  as  well  as  politi- 


THE  CHURCH   WITHOUT   AN    ARISTOCRAT.  269 

cal,  neither  of  whom  care  any  thing  for  what  they  term  "  the 
lower  orders"  beyond  what  their  own  interests  will  allow; 
they  have  no  hearty  desire  for  the  general  elevation  and 
progress  of  the  people.  This  might  be  expected,  since 
aristocracy  and  true  humanity  are  incompatible.  Humanity 
they  cannot  have,  who  entertain  no  respect  for  men  as  men, 
as  essentially  on  an  equality  with  themselves,  by  a  participation 
of  the  image  of  God.  Such  persons  claim  the  right  to  dog- 
matize without  examination,  and  impose  their  vagaries  without 
restraint,  as  if  they  had  discovered  some  nearer  road  to  truth 
than  that  of  argument,  and  some  better  means  of  moral  con- 
quest than  that  of  conscience  and  common  sense. 

The  combined  horrors  of  kingcraft,  priestcraft,  and  aristo- 
craft,  the  chief  support  and  most  oppressive  component -of 
all,  constitute  one  of  the  very  greatest  curses  that  has  afflicted 
earth ;  and  till  its  hydra  heads  are  crushed  beneath  the  car 
of  true  republicanism,  there  can  be  no  perfect  liberty  for 
mankind.  Seated  around  sumptuous  tables,  loaded  with 
viands  the  most  delicious,  wines  the  most  exquisite,  and 
flowers  of  the  sweetest  perfume,  men  of  might  and  women 
of  fashion  float  gayly  in  an  atmosphere  of  voluptuousness,  and 
intoxicate  every  sense  with  pleasure.  But  what  to  them  are 
the  wants  and  woes  of  the  Lazaruses  groaning  and  famished 
at  their  doors  ?  In  the  intervals  of  their  hilarity,  one  hears 
the  sharp  sound  of  clattering  fetters,  and  they  smile  ;  or  the 
whizzing  lash  as  it  scarifies  the  skin  or  scoops  out  a  fragment 
of  bleeding  flesh,  and  they  smile ;  or  the  low  groans  which 
arise  from  some  dungeon,  and  they  smile ;  or  the  sobbings  of 
inexpressible  anguish,  the  death-rattle  of  famine,  or  the  shriek 
of  one  about  to  be  strangled,  and  still  they  smile,  as  if  the 
world  was  made  expressly  to  fill  their  coffers,  and  every 
thing  beautiful  and  fair  to  satiate  their  lusts.  But,  thank  God, 
the  ranks  which  have  heretofore  most  abused  the  rights  and 
patience  of  the  great  masses,  now  provoke  them  to  a  just 
retribution.  Through  this  fearful  process  the  old  world  is 
now  passing.  "  The  strange  illusion,  that  a  man,  because  he 
23* 


270  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

wears  a  garter  or  ribbon,  or  was  born  to  a  title,  belongs  to 
another  race,  is  fading  away ;  and  society  must  pass  through 
a  series  of  revolutions,  silent  or  bloody,  until  a  more  natural 
order  takes  place  of  distinctions  which  grew  originally  out  of 
force.  Thus  aristocracy,  instead  of  giving  order  to  society, 
now  convulses  it.  So  impossible  is  it  for  arbitrary  human 
ordinations  permanently  to  degrade  human  nature,  or  subvert 
the  principles  of  justice  and  freedom  !  The  past  is  gone,  the 
feudal  castle  is  dismantled,  the  distance  between  classes 
greatly  reduced.  Unfortunate  as  it  may  be,  the  people  have 
begun  to  think,  to  ask  reasons  for  what  they  do,  and  suffer, 
and  believe,  and  to  call  the  past  to  account.  Old  spells  are 
broken,  old  reliances  gone.  Men  can  no  longer  be  kept 
down  by  pageantry,  state  robes,  forms,  and  shows.  Allowing 
it  to  be  best  that  society  should  rest  on  the  depression  of  the 
multitude,  the  multitude  will  no  longer  be  quiet  when  they 
are  trodden  under  foot,  but  ask  impatiently  for  a  reason  why 
they  too  may  not  have  a  share  in  social  blessings.  Such  is 
the  state  of  things,  and  we  must  make  the  best  of  what  we 
cannot  prevent.  Right  or  wrong,  the  people  will  think;  and 
is  it  not  important  that  they  should  think  justly?  that  they 
should  be  inspired  with  the  love  of  truth,  and  instructed  how 
to  seek  it  ?  that  they  should  be  established  by  wise  culture 
in  the  great  principles  on  which  religion  and  society  rest,  and 
be  protected  from  skepticism  and  wild  speculation,  by  inter- 
course with  enlightened  and  virtuous  men  ?  It  is  plain  that, 
in  the  actual  state  of  the  world,  nothing  can  avail  us  but  a 
real  improvement  of  the  mass  of  the  people.  No  stable 
foundation  can  be  laid  for  us  but  in  men's  minds.  Alarming 
as  the  truth  is,  it  should  be  told,  that  outward  institutions 
cannot  now  secure  us.  Mightier  powers  than  institutions 
have  come  into  play  among  us  —  the  judgment,  the  opinions, 
the  feelings  of  the  many ;  and  all  hopes  of  stability,  which  do 
not  rest  on  the  progress  of  the  many,  must  perish." 

The  influence  of  feudal  institutions  has  ever  been  unquali- 
fiedly pernicious  in  the  old  world,  and  was  imparted  in  quite 


THE  CHURCH  WITHOUT  AN  ARISTOCRAT.        271 

too  large  measures  in  the  first  settlement  of  the  new.  That 
influence  still  remains  among  us  in  some  degree,  and  cannot 
be  too  soon  extirpated  from  our  institutions,  root  and  branch. 
Sir  Walter  Scott,  in  describing  one  of  the  original  vassals  in 
England,  after  depicting  the  other  peculiarities  of  his  costume, 
adds,  "  One  part  of  his  dress  only  remains,  but  it  is  too 
remarkable  to  be  suppressed  ;  it  was  a  brass  ring,  resembling 
a  dog's  collar,  but  without  any  opening,  and  soldered  fast  round 
his  neck  ;  so  loose  as  to  form  no  impediment  to  his  breathing; 
yet  so  tight  as  to  be  incapable  of  being  removed,  excepting  by 
the  use  of  the  file.  On  this  singular  gorget  was  engraved,  in 
Saxon  characters,  '  Gurth,  the  son  of  Beowulph,  is  the  born 
thrall  of  Cedric.' "  This  describes  the  condition  of  "  born 
thralls,"  in  the  hands  of  ancient  aristocrats ;  but  we  think  they 
are  not  demanded  by  the  enlightened  spirit  of  this  age,  and 
least  of  all  should  they  be  found  associated  with  the  boasted 
institutions  of  this  free  land. 

If  physical  bondage  yet  remains  to  disgrace  a  portion  of  the 
United  States,  we  yet  enjoy  the  rights  of  conscience  without 
restraint ;  and  it  is  easy  to  learn  to  whom  we  are  indebted  for 
the  inestimable  boon.  Bancroft,  speaking  of  the  priestcraft, 
inflamed  and  fortified  by  the  primitive  aristocracy  of  New 
England,  says,  "  The  larger  number  of  the  friends  of  Anne 
Hutchinson,  led  by  John  Clarke  and  William  Coddington,  pro- 
ceeded to  the  south,  designing  to  make  a  plantation  on  Long 
Island,  or  near  Delaware  Bay.  But  Roger  Williams  welcomed 
them  to  his  vicinity  ;  and  his  own  influence,  and  the  powerful 
name  of  Henry  Vane,  prevailed  with  Miantonomoh,  the  chief 
of  the  Narrangansetts,  to  obtain  for  them  a  gift  of  the  beauti- 
ful island  of  Rhode  Island.  The  spirit  of  the  institutions 
established  by  this  band  of  voluntary  exiles,  on  the  soil  which 
they  owed  to  the  benevolence  of  the  natives,  was  derived  from 
natural  justice ;  a  social  compact,  signed  after  the  manner  of 
the  precedent  at  New  Plymouth,  so  often  imitated  in  America, 
founded  the  government  upon  the  basis  of  the  universal  con- 
sent of  every  inhabitant :  the  forms  of  the  administration  were 


272  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

borrowed  from  the  examples  of  the  Jews.  Coddington  was 
elected  judge  in  the  new  Israel ;  and  the  three  elders  were 
chosen  as  his  assistants.  The  colony  rested  on  the  principle 
of  intellectual  liberty  ;  philosophy  itself  could  not  have  placed 
the  right  on  a  broader  basis.  The  settlement  prospered  ;  and 
it  became  necessary  to  establish  a  constitution.  It  was  there- 
fore ordered  by  the  whole  body  of  freemen,  and  '  unanimously 
agreed  upon,  that  the  government,  which  this  body  politic  doth 
attend  unto  in  this  island,  and  the  jurisdiction  thereof,  in  favor 
of  our  Prince,  is  a  Democracie,  or  popular  government ;  that 
is  to  say,  it  is  the  power  of  the  body  of  freemen  orderly 
assembled,  or  major  part  of  them,  to  make  or  constitute  just 
Lawes,  by  which  they  will  be  regulated,  and  to  depute  from 
among  themselves  such  ministers  as  shall  see  them  faithfully 
executed  between  man  and  man.'  'It  was  further  ordered, 
that  none  be  accounted  a  delinquent  for  doctrine;'  the  law 
for  '  liberty  of  conscience  was  perpetuated. ,  The  little  com- 
munity was  held  together  by  the  bonds  of  affection  and  free- 
dom of  opinion ;  benevolence  was  their  rule ;  they  trusted  in 
the  power  of  love  to  win  the  victory ;  and  '  the  signet  for  the 
state '  was  ordered  to  be  'a  sheafe  of  arrows '  with  4 the 
motto  Amor  vincet  omnia.'  " — Vol.  i.  pp.  392,  393. 

This  points  to  the  first  home  of  true  principles  ;  and  another 
extract  will  show  some  of  their  first  struggles  with  growing 
aristocracy.  Continues  the  same  historian,  "  When  Clarke, 
the  pure  and  tolerant  Baptist  of  Rhode  Island,  one  of  the  happy 
few  who  succeed  in  acquiring  an  estate  of  beneficence  and 
connecting  the  glory  of  their  name  with  the  liberty  and  happi- 
ness of  a  commonwealth,  began  to  preach  to  a  small  audience 
in  Lynn,  he  was  seized  by  the  civil  officers.  Being  compelled 
to  attend  with  the  congregation,  he  expressed  his  aversion  by  • 
a  harmless  indecorum,  which  would  yet  have  been  without 
excuse,  had  his  presence  been  voluntary.  He  and  his  com- 
panions were  tried,  and  condemned  to  pay  a  fine  of  twenty 
or  thirty  pounds  ;  and  Holmes,  who  refused  to  pay  his  fine, 
was  whipped  unmercifully. 


THE    CHURCH   WITHOUT   AN    ARISTOCRAT.  273 

"  Since  a  particular  form  of  worship  had  become  a  part  of 
the  civil  establishment,  irreligion  was  now  to  be  punished  as  a 
civil  offence.  The  state  was  a  model  of  Christ's  kingdom  on 
earth  ;  treason  against  the  civil  government  was  treason  against 
Christ ;  and  reciprocally,  as  the  gospel  had  the  right  paramount, 
blasphemy,  or  what  a  jury  should  call  blasphemy,  was  the  high- 
est offence  in  the  catalogue  of  crimes.  To  deny  any  book  of 
the  Old  or  New  Testament  to  be  the  written  and  infallible  word 
of  God,  was  punishable  by  fine  or  by  stripes,  and,  in  case  of 
obstinacy,  by  exile  or  death.  Absence  from  l  the  ministry  of 
the  word'  was  punished  by  a  fine. 

"  By  degrees  the  spirit  of  the  establishment  began  to  subvert 
the  fundamental  principles  of  Independency.  The  liberty  of 
prophesying  was  refused,  except  the  approbation  of  four  elders, 
or  of  a  county  court,  had  been  obtained.  Remonstrance  was 
useless.  The  union  of  church  and  state  was  fast  corrupting 
both  ;  it  mingled  base  ambition  with  the  former  ;  it  gave  a  false 
direction  to  the  legislation  of  the  latter.  And  at  last  the  gen- 
eral court  claimed  for  itself,  for  the  council, -and  for  any  two 
organic  churches,  the  right  of  silencing  any  person  who  was 
not  as  yet  ordained.  Thus  rapidly  did  human  nature  display 
its  power !  '  The  creation  of  a  national,  uncompromising 
church  led  the  Congregationalists  of  Massachusetts  to  the 
indulgence  of  the  passions  which  had  disgraced  their  English 
persecutors ;  and  Laud  was  justified  by  the  men  whom  he  had 
wronged."  —  pp.  450,  451. 

It  is  greatly  to  be  deplored  that  Christianity  has  so  often  been 
crippled  or  despised  by  those  who  misunderstand  its  genius,  or 
are  too  much  blinded  by  bigotry  to  perceive  its  superiority  over 
the  religions  it  came  to  supersede.  Judaism  had  its  theocracy, 
and  paganism  its  aristocracy  of  divinities  circling  the  brow  of 
Olympus  ;  but  Christianity  is  encompassed  and  adorned  only 
by  one  grand  brotherhood,  bound  together  by  love,  like  the 
angels,  and  blended  in  republican  equality,  like  flowers  blos- 
soming in  Tempe's  vale.  All  the  great  gifts  of  God  and  nature 
bear  the  same  marks,  and  are  evidently  designed  for  a  common 


274  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

benefit.  The  air  is  clearly  free  for  all  to  breathe  ;  water  pours 
abroad  its  currents  of  beauty  and  richness  with  undistinguished 
profusion ;  and  earth,  with  all  the  bounty  of  diversified  soil, 
proffers  the  fruits  of  national  fertility  in  proportion  to  the  indus- 
try of  every  man.  With  wonder  and  admiration  we  contem- 
plate the  miracle  of  Christ,  when,  with  five  loaves  and  two 
fishes,  he  fed  assembled  thousands.  Let  the  principles  of  his 
religion  but  preponderate  among  mankind,  and  that  miracle 
will  become  perpetual ;  the  supply  will  outrun  the  demand,  and 
wretchedness  of  every  form  be  banished  from  earth.  But  no  ; 
the  poor  must  be  made  poorer,  that  the  rich  may  become  yet 
richer.  Millions  per  annum  must  go  to  support  sinecures  and 
worse  than  useless  luxuries,  while  the  great  masses  inherit 
nothing  but  ignorance,  servitude,  and  want.  When  will  the 
opulent,  the  proud,  and  the  pompous,  learn  that  the  code  of  the 
rights  of  property  is  destined  to  be  modified  at  least  by  the 
rights  of  humanity  ?  The  one  is  artificial,  temporary,  and 
often  exceedingly  oppressive ;  the  other  is  natural,  universal, 
and  immovable.  The  negro  admires  the  skill  of  the  white 
man  ;  he  says  that  he  makes  every  thing  work.  "  He  catches 
horse,  makes  him  work  ;  catches  nigger,  makes  him  work  ; 
catches  smoke,  makes  him  work."  But  the  mighty,  who  are 
playing  this  imperial  game,  compelling  humanity  unceasingly 
to  toil,  should  exercise  Christ's  law  of  mercy,  or  they  will 
speedily  learn,  to  their  cost,  that  the  workers  are  themselves 
becoming  qualified  to  define  their  just  rights  and  defend  them. 
Over  thrones,  dominions,  and  powers,  over  whatever  ancient 
bulwarks  or  modern  prejudices  may  oppose  to  their  advance- 
ment, truth  and  justice  are  marching  to  inevitable  and  speedy 
triumph.  In  tones  most  clear  and  exhilarating,  God  is  speak- 
ing in  the  soul  of  the  masses,  telling  each  to  realize  all  of  which 
his  energies  are  capable,  and  toward  which  his  aspirations 
tend,  recognizing  no  human  master,  and  wearing  no  fetter  on 
faculty  or  limb. 

*    We  have   said  that   aristocracy  was  the  first   foe   of   the 
church,  has  ever  since  been  but  a  hypocritical  friend  at  best, 


THE    CHURCH   WITHOUT   AN    ARISTOCRAT.  275 

and  we  now  remark,  thirdly,  that  it  is  a  perpetual  impediment 
and  consummate  disgrace. 

There  always  has  been  something  fiendish  in  absolute  power, 
and  in  the  mode  with  which  ambitious  worldlings  have  maligned 
the  nature  of  Christianity,  or  attempted  to  pervert  its  use.  For 
centuries  after  the  primitive  church  was  planted,  this  evil  was 
the  greatest  which  truth  struggled  to  overcome.  Tertullian,  in 
his  "Apology,"  (chap,  xlv.,)  has  occasion  to  allude  to  this  fact, 
and  indirectly  sketches  a  beautiful  outline  of  what  Christianity 
then  was.  Says  he,  "  We  pray  for  emperors,  and  for  all 
officers  in  power,  for  the  present  state  of  the  world,  for  peace, 
and  for  the  delay  of  the  final  consummation.  We  unite  to 
read  the  Scriptures,  whence  we  derive,  according  to  circum- 
stances, the  light  and  warning  of  which  we  have  need.  This 
divine  word  nourishes  our  faith,  elevates  our  hope,  confirms 
our  confidence,  establishes  the  bond  of  discipline,  and  incul- 
cates its  law.  .  .  .  Old  men  preside.  They  attain  this  honor, 
not  by  wealth,  but  by  the  popular  suffrage  offered  to  their  well- 
known  worth.  Money  has  not  the  slightest  influence  in  things 
pertaining  to  God.  If  there  is  found  among  us  a  kind  of 
treasure,  its  source  is  pure,  and  no  one  has  occasion  to  blush 
for  having  sold  religion.  Each  one  contributes  a  moderate 
sum  every  month,  in  such  manner  and  amount  as  he  pleases  ; 
there  is  no  compulsion  ;  the  offerings  are  voluntary.  This  is 
the  deposit  of  piety ;  it  is  never  dissipated  in  festivals  or  in 
debauches,  but  is  employed  to  relieve  or  buiy  the  destitute,  to 
nourish  forsaken  orphans,  superannuated  domestics,  and  those 
who  have  suffered  shipwreck  ;  and,  if  there  are  Christians  con- 
demned to  the  mines,  held  bound  in  prisons,  or  banished  to 
islands,  only  for  the  cause  of  God,  Religion  expands  her  ma- 
ternal solicitude  in  behalf  of  those  who  have  confessed  her 
before  the  world." 

This  shows,  with  every  other  form  of  testimony,  that  truth 
has  much  more  to  fear  than  to  hope  from  unsanctified  great- 
ness. Her  chief  strength  is  in  the  attachment  of  the  feeble 
whom  she  protects,  and  the  law  of  righteousness  upon  which 


276  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

she  is  based.  Love  is  her  great  power,  and  the  unlovely  great 
are  her  chief  impediment  and  disgrace, "  without  one  glory  spar- 
kling in  their  eye,  one  triumph  on  their  tongue."  Christianity 
has  been  shorn  of  its  best  energies  ever  since  it  fell  into  the 
thraldom  of  aristocratic  patronage,  and  wherever  the  masses 
have  been  prevented  from  selecting,  at  their  own  will,  pious 
and  philanthropic  pastors  to  fill  free  pulpits,  and  station  in  every 
community  a  lover  of  justice,  humanity,  and  God. 

In  the  history  of  the  past  and  observation  of  the  present,  we 
meet  with  artificial  distinctions  much  oftener  than  the  enjoy- 
ment of  natural  rights.  Particular  dignitaries  domineer  over 
and  obscure  our  common  nature.  Autocrats  and  aristocrats, 
nobles  and  priests,  are  more  frequently  obtruded  upon  the  gen- 
eral notice  than  men,  —  human  beings  made  conscious  of 
divinity  within  them,  and  acutely  conscious  of  the  worthless- 
ness  of  all  outward  decorations,  compared  with  what  is  treas- 
ured in  their  own  souls.  Man  does  not  sufficiently  value  him- 
self as  man,  but  looks  rather  to  the  chance  circumstances  of 
blood,  rank,  or  caste  —  unworthy  prejudices,  which  obscure 
what  we  most  need  to  know,  the  invaluable  worth  and  immortal 
destiny  of  every  human  being. 

To  maintain  arbitrary  distinctions  and  power,  there  has  been 
a  frightful  expenditure  of  money,  blood,  and  human  happiness. 
Says  a  distinguished  English  writer  in  relation  to  his  own 
country,  "  We  talk  of  education  and  institutions  for  the  peo- 
ple :  why,  the  country  might  have  been  covered  with  endowed 
schools,  institutions,  museums,  libraries,  picture  and  sculpture 
galleries.  We  might  have  brought  the  luxuries  of  life  home 
to  every  village,  and  furnished  the  means  of  intellectual  and 
artistical  improvement  and  enjoyment  to  the  entire  population 
of  these  realms.  Nor  was  it  merely  a  waste  of  money,  but 
of  human  life  and  happiness,  which  the  principles  of  the  Cor- 
responding Society  would  have  averted.  During  the  long  and 
bloody  wars  with  France,  men  fell  as  thick  as  pounds  were 
wasted,  by  hundreds  of  thousands  and  by  millions.  There  was 
scarcely  a  stream  which  was  not  stained  by  British  blood,  how- 


THE  CHURCH  WITHOUT  AN  ARISTOCRAT.        277 

ever  remote  the  country  in  which  its  waters  flowed,  —  scarcely 
a  soil  which  was  not  saturated  and  fertilized  with  the  blood  of 
our  countrymen.  And  for  what?  To  keep  down  freedom 
both  abroad  and  at  home  ;  to  arrest  the  course  of  the  French 
revolution,  and  prevent  the  commencement  of  an  English 
reformation.  Not  only  is  the  loss  of  life  to  be  considered,  but 
also  the  sacrifice  of  human  enjoyment  and  peace.  Widows 
and  orphans  were  made  by  wholesale  ;  sorrow  and  suffering 
were  spread  over  Europe  ;  every  department  of  trade  and 
commerce  was  disturbed.  There  was,  so  to  speak,  almost  an 
omnipresence  of  evil  generated  ;  bad  passions,  lashed  into  a 
fury  of  demoralization,  spread  from  country  to  country,  too 
often  under  the  name  of  religion,  by  means  of  which  it  was 
attempted  to  establish  over  humanity  the  reign  of  the  most 
demoniacal  principles  and  practices.  There  was  a  fearful  sus- 
pension of  that  regular  career  of  improvement  by  which  the 
human  race,  left  to  itself,  would  advance,  a  throwing  back  of 
the  destinies  of  humanity,  and,  as  far  as  human  power  extends, 
counteracting  the  purposes  of  divine  Providence  for  the 
amelioration  of  the  condition  of  mortals,  and  their  gradual 
advancement  towards  a  higher  state  of  being.  If  the  Corre- 
sponding Society  had  been  successful,  not  only  would  external 
warfare  have  been  prevented,  but  internal  dissension  likewise. 
The  Irish  rebellion  of  1798  would  not  have  taken  place ;  the 
tremendous  horrors  of  which  have  not  yet  been  forgotten,  and 
never  will  be  until  that  country  has  every  wrong  redressed. 
Pitch-caps,  floggings,  triangles,  and  all  the  gross  barbarities  to 
which  the  inhabitants  of  that  land  were  subjected  by  an  inso- 
lent soldiery,  —  the  recollection  of  which  accumulated  so  much 
of  horror  and  hatred  around  the  name  of  Lord  Castlereagh, 
that  it  could  not  be  obliterated  even  by  the  death  which  he 
inflicted  upon  himself,  —  these  would  have  been  saved,  and  all 
the  passions  and  collisions  which  have  resulted  from  this  state 
of  things,  and  have  spread  so  much  derangement  and  confusion 
abroad  in  society  since  that  time." 

The  oppression  suffered  by  the  laboring  classes  at  home  is 
24 


278  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

equalled  only  by  the  miseries  of  those  who  are  driven  into  wars- 
abroad.     Coleridge  said  of  the  first, — 

"  Those  institutions  of  society  which  should  condemn  me  to 
the  necessity  of  twelve  hours'  daily  toil  would  make  my  soul 
a  slave,  and  sink  the  rational  being  into  the  mere  animal.  It  is 
a  mockery  of  our  fellow-creatures'  wrongs  to  call  them  equal 
in  rights,  when,  by  bitter  compulsion  of  their  wants,  we  make 
them  inferior  to  us  in  all  that  can  soften  the  heart  or  dignify 
the  understanding." 

Upon  this  truthful  text,  Rev.  Mr.  Fox  makes  the  following 
equally  truthful  remarks  :  — 

"  There  are  those  who  can  bear  well  the  amount  of  toil 
which  Coleridge  disclaims  for  himself,  as  likely  to  exercise 
such  a  crushing  influence  over  his  faculties.  While  there  are 
a  few  who  are  subject  to  the  curse  —  for  such  it  is  —  of  indo- 
lence, the  great  body  of  the  people,  most  assuredly,  are  over- 
tasked in  their  labors ;  they  have  to  wear  out  life,  thought, 
sensation,  and  all  the  higher  and  better  powers  of  our  nature, 
in  the  mere  exercise  of  muscular  strength  ;  they  are  doomed 
to  a  sort  of  engine  mode  of  existence,  having  to  fulfil  their 
allotted  task  from  day  to  day  ;  and,  however  much  medical 
men  may  be  puzzled  to  say  exactly  what  is  the  average  meas- 
ure of  labor  which  is  good  for  human  beings,  there  can  be  no 
doubt,  nor,  I  believe,  is  there  any  with  scientific  men  them- 
selves, that  that  measure  is,  in  an  immense  multitude  of  cases, 
largely  overpassed. 

"  The  results  of  this  system  force  themselves  upon  our 
notice.  They  evidence  themselves  in  debilitated  frames,  pre- 
vailing epidemics,  and  shortened  duration  of  life.  Death,  like 
a  stern  monitor,  keeps  his  account-books  well ;  he  swells  his 
numbers,  and  records  with  unerring  pen  the  consequences  of 
a  deteriorated  and  oppressive  condition  of  society  ;  he  points  to 
nameless  graves  in  the  distance  as  the  total  and  the  end  of  all. 
If,  in  the  struggle  of  the  Scottish  people  with  Episcopacy,  they 
can  now  point  to  their  distinguished  martyrs  and  others  who 
fell  in  the  cause  of  religion  or  their  country,  —  so  numerous 


THE  CHURCH  WITHOUT  AN  ARISTOCRAT.        279 

that  they  were  called  upon  to  erect  one  gravestone  to  the  mem- 
ory of  ten  thousand  martyrs,  —  why,  excessive  toil  has  also  its 
records  in  graves  without  a  tombstone,  where  lie  the  hundreds 
of  thousands  and  the  millions  of  martyrs  to  the  imposition  of 
labor  too  great  for  humanity  to  bear." 

To  limit  the  blessings  of  education  to  the  smallest  possible 
number,  and  to  monopolize  its  power  for  selfish  purposes,  is 
another  form  of  craft  practised  by  priests  and  aristocrats. 
"  Their  only  real  object  is  to  render  education  subservient  to 
the  interests  of  certain  wealthy  and  powerful  classes ;  while 
that  moral  appreciation  of  its  benefits,  that  earnest  wish  that 
humanity,  wherever  it  exists,  however  lowly  its  condition, 
should  have  all  the  gladdening  views  and  lofty  aspirations 
which  a  wholesome  training  and  guidance  would  bestow,  is 
altogether  thrown  overboard,  and  the  whole  thing  is  sacrificed 
to  a  thirst  of  power,  and  a  principle  of  sordid ness."  Hence  all 
the  great  universities  are  closed  against  those  who  will  not  first 
swear  to  stand  by  "  the  altar  and  the  throne,"  because  unshackled 
republican  students  are,  of  all  agencies,  those  which  despotism 
has  good  reason  most  to  fear.  They  would  have  subjects, 
not  of  right,  but  of  sufferance  —  not  of  independence,  but  of 
charity  —  a  sort  of  slaves  who,  like  tame  animals,  should  lick 
the  hand  that  grudgingly  feeds  them,  and  obey  the  unquestioned 
biddings  of  their  masters,  upon  whatever  errand  they  may  be 
sent.  The  first  article  in  the  creed  of  such  dons  is,  that 
"  whatever  is  is  right,"  and  especially  is  it  right  that  they 
themselves  should  be  comfortably  off,  and  care  as  little  as 
possible  about  the  unfortunate  millions.  Every  child  they 
produce  to  propagate  their  ignoble  character  and  prejudices, 
is  instructed  in  infancy  to  distinguish  between  a  rich  and  poor 
relation,  while  he  sucks  in  the  absurdities  of  his  catechism, 
receiving  "  all  that  the  nurse  and  all  the  priest  have  taught," 
as  the  ultimatum  of  truth  and  the  only  rule  of  life. 

The  crowning  iniquity  of  aristocratic  influence  is  found  in 
the  monopoly  it  aims  to  secure  in  secular  and  religious  legis- 
lation.    It  is  yet  too  true,  in  Europe  and  America,  that.  "  the 


280  REPUBLICAN   CHRISTIANITY. 

largest  possessors  of  wealth  have  the  greatest  influence  in  the 
enactment  of  laws  by  which  the  people  are  taxed.  Thus  we 
find,  as  a  consequence  of  this  undue  influence  of  property,  that 
the  whole  round  of  taxation  falls  most  hardly  upon  the  poor, 
and  those  who  have  the  least  ability  to  pay.  It  is  not  upon 
large  properties,  immense  estates,  and  great  accumulations 
of  wealth,  that  the  burden  of  taxation  ever  falls  with  a  pres- 
sure which  can  be  felt  for  an  instant ;  but  the  weight  bears 
upon  all  the  necessaries  of  life,  taxing  every  thing  which 
comes  to  the  poor  man,  and  making  him  pay  without  im- 
mediately seeing  the  hand  of  the  tax-collector ;  but  although 
the  process  is  invisible  to  the  eye  of  the  oppressed  individual, 
it  is  in  reality  plundering  him  of  a  large  portion  of  his  earn- 
ings. This  is  the  result  of  legislation  being  exclusively  in  the 
hands  of  the  money  power,  by  which  the  taxation  is  thus 
imposed  ;  instead  of  being,  as  it  should  be,  in  the  possession 
of  that  moral  power  which  would  make  realized  property  pay 
for  its  security  and  permanence  —  a  tax  which  would  scarcely 
be  felt  by  the  individual,  and  which  is  amply  due  from  him 
as  the  amount  of  his  insurance  in  the  great  office  of  social 
safety. 

"  The  contest  which  is  now  going  on  between  monopoly  and 
free  trade  is  another  struggle  of  the  same  description.  Here, 
indeed,  it  may  be  said  that  there  is  the  money  power  on  both 
sides ;  and  that  accumulation  is  the  object  of  those  who  are 
striving  for  the  one  object,  as  well  as  for  those  who  are  fight- 
ing against  its  attainment.  But  there  lies  something  deeper 
in  the  conflict  than  a  mere  struggle  between  two  sections  of 
the  money  power ;  there  is  a  most  vital  elementary  principle 
at  stake  —  man's  right  to  what  he  earns,  and  to  the  greatest 
amount  of  good  which  his  industry  will  produce  in  the  world's 
market  —  his  liberty  to  buy,  at  the  lowest  price  that  he  can, 
any  of  the  commodities  of  which  he  stands  in  need.  This  is 
a  question  involving  the  natural  right  of  the  people,  and  which 
is  not  the  'less  infringed  for  the  interference  being  veiled 
under  a  variety  of  terms,  and  practised  indirectly.     It  is,  in 


THE    CHURCH   WITHOUT   AN   ARISTOCRAT.  281 

reality,  the  same  thing  as  though  that  portion  of  his  earnings 
which  is  abstracted  in  taxation,  or  by  what  is  called  «  protec- 
tion,' was  actually  taken  from  him  by  force,  and  applied, 
against  his  own  consent,  to  purposes  in  which  he  had  no 
concern.1' 

The  only  aristocracy  worthy  of  our  esteem  is  Nature's 
own.  This  is  differenced  from  every  factitious  kind  by  two 
invariable  marks  ;  it  is  always  practically  useful  to  society,  and 
never  hereditary.  Mere  learning,  wealth,  and  artificial  honors, 
may  be  acquired  mechanically ;  but  the  sons  of  their  posses- 
sors are  never  born  with  their  actual  possession.  At  the 
advent  of  every  child  of  Adam,  in  the  hovel  or  palace, 
Nature  presents  herself  before  him  with  the  eternal  charter 
of  human  rights,  declaring  —  all  are  born  free  and  equal. 
But  of  the  rightful  inheritance  belonging  to  all  new-comers, 
false  greatness  seizes  the  lion's  share,  leaving  to  be  doled  out 
to  the  weaker  classes  only  a  few  scraps  and  crumbs  of 
privilege.  If  the  possessors  of  more  copious  brain,  heart, 
and  living  soul,  work  out  the  results  which  constitute  the 
dignity  of  human  nature,  and  the  moral  grandeur  of  either 
church  or  state,  no  thanks  to  fostering  wealth  or  official 
patronage  for  their  success.  Solitary  and  unsympathized 
with  in  their  lofty  aspirations,  they  win  a  peaceful,  honorable, 
and  useful  victory  over  the  world,  benefiting  those  whom 
they  subdue  by  the  majesty  of  their  intrinsic  worth,  and 
raising  them  from  the  degradation  of  privileged  classes,  to 
the  higher  dignity  of  membership  in  a  free  state  and  republi- 
can church. 

Monopolists  are  all  of  the  same  feather,  and  their  influence 
is  the  same  in  every  country  and  age.  They  are  known  by 
the  positions  they  covet,  as  well  as  by  the  deeds  they  perform  ; 
as  innocent  birds  build  their  nests  in  the  grass,  but  birds  of 
prey  on  domineering  heights.  The  finest  creatures  of  im- 
agination, and  the  grandest  masterpieces  of  inventive  genius, 
are  estimated  by  what  they  will  contribute  to  personal 
aggrandizement,  and  not  by  their  relation  to  the  common 
24* 


282  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

weal.  "  Discover  what  will  destroy  life,  and  you  are  a  great 
man !  what  will  prolong  it,  and  you  are  an  impostor !  Dis- 
cover some  invention  in  machinery  that  will  make  the  rich 
more  rich,  and  the  poor  more  poor,  and  they  will  build  you 
a  statue  !  Discover  some  mystery  in  art  that  would  equalize 
physical  disparities,  and  they  will  pull  down  their  own  houses 
to  stone  you." 

The  English  aristocracy  are,  at  this  moment,  greatly 
alarmed,  as  they  have  been  for  the  last  half  century,  in  their 
conflict  with  republican  France,  and  other  abused  neighbors. 
They  profess  to  fight  under  the  banner  of  Liberty ;  but  the 
least  informed  can  easily  see  that  the  only  freedom  they 
desire  is  to  enjoy  their  own  selfish  privileges,  which  are 
endangered  by  every  advance  of  liberal  opinions  and  rational 
institutions.  But  liberty  does  not  cease  to  be  a  great  fact  in 
the  heart  of  humanity,  and  the  most  strengthening  of  its 
hopes,  because  the  base,  the  cunning,  and  the  tyrannical,  are 
ready  to  offer  mock  incense  on  her  altars,  when  about  to 
murder  Liberty's  champions,  and  to  transform  into  curses  all 
which  it  is  her  prerogative  to  bestow.  For  instance,  look  at 
that  beautiful  and  abused  land,  of  which  her  noble  son,  Grattan, 
said  long  ago,  "  I  found  Ireland  on  her  knees :  I  watched 
over  her  with  an  eternal  solicitude :  I  have  traced  her  prog- 
ress from  injuries  to  arms,  and  from  arms  to  liberty."  No: 
not  yet  to  liberty  quite,  but  justice  to  all  oppressed  people  will 
yet  come. 

The  common  sense  of  mankind  has  declared  Brahminism 
hostile  to  civilization,  because  it  produces  stagnation  in  the 
moral  life,  and  perpetually  limits  the  exercise  of  intellect. 
The  influence  of  all  feudal  institutions  is  exactly  the  same.  It 
is  a  system  which  has  rendered  but  one  good  service  to  man- 
kind—  the  example  of  individual  will,  displaying  itself  with 
the  utmost  energy  in  revolt  against  insufferable  wrongs.  The 
lesson  prospered  :  in  spite  of  the  weakness  of  the  serfs,  and 
the  prodigious  inequality  between  them  and  the  great  pro- 
prietors, their  lords,  whole  cities  broke  out  in  rebellion,  and 


THE  CHURCH  WITHOUT  AN  ARISTOCRAT.        283 

began  the  battle  of  freedom  for  the  world.  Says  Guizot,  "  It 
is  difficult  to  fix  a  precise  date  to  this  great  event  —  this 
general  insurrection  of  the  cities.  The  commencement  of 
their  enfranchisement  is  usually  placed  at  the  beginning  of  the 
eleventh  century.  But  in  all  great  events,  how  many  un- 
known and  disastrous  efforts  must  have  been  made,  before 
the  successful  one  !  Providence,  upon  all  occasions,  in  order 
to  accomplish  its  designs,  is  prodigal  of  courage,  virtues,  sacri- 
fices—  finally,  of  man ;  and  it  is  only  after  a  vast  number  of 
unknown  attempts,  apparently  lost,  —  after  a  host  of  noble  hearts 
have  fallen  into  despair ;  convinced  that  their  cause  was  lost, 
—  that  it  triumphs.  Such,  no  doubt,  was  the  case  in  the 
struggle  of  the  free  cities.  Doubtless  in  the  eighth,  ninth,  and 
tenth  centuries,  there  were  many  attempts  at  resistance,  many 
efforts  made  for  freedom  ;  —  many  attempts  to  escape  from 
bondage,  which  not  only  were  unsuccessful,  but  the  remem- 
brance of  which,  from  their  ill  success,  has  remained  without 
glory.  Still  we  may  rest  assured  that  these  attempts  had  a 
vast  influence  upon  succeeding  events :  they  kept  alive  and 
maintained  the  spirit  of  liberty  —  they  prepared  the  great 
insurrection  of  the  eleventh  century." 

The  battle  of  the  popular  heart  and  will,  against  feudality, 
has  never  ceased  ;  it  is  mightier  and  more  successful  now  than 
ever  before.  In  the  days  of  Becket,  archbishop  of  Canterbury, 
sumptuary  laws  were  passed  which  allowed  traders  and  arti- 
sans the  use  of  meat  at  one  meal  only  ;  even  the  rich  were 
allowed  only  two  courses  and  two  sorts  of  viands,  with  the 
exception  of  barons  and  prelates,  who  were  at  liberty  to  de- 
vour as  many  kinds  and  as  much  as  they  pleased.  But  people 
in  our  day  seem  disposed  to  take  the  law-making  and  food- 
providing  business  into  their  own  hands.  In  the  grand  final 
conflict,  which  every  moment  approaches  a  more  deadly  crisis, 
aristocrats  in  church  and  state  will  be  the  first  to  perish, 
according  to  the  righteous  ordinance  of  Heaven,  that  they  who 
most  outrageously  invade  the  liberties  of  others  shall  first  lose 
their  own.     The  time  has  come  when  every  man,  deprived  of 


2S4  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

his  lawful  rights,  will  exclaim,  as  did  Mirabeau,  when  expelled 
from  the  assembly  of  the  nobles  at  Marseilles,  "  So  perished 
the  last  of  the  Gracchi ;  but,  before  yielding  up  his  life,  he 
threw  dust  toward  heaven,  and  from  that  dust  Marius  grew  — 
Marius,  less  great  as  the  exterminator  of  the  Cimbri,  than  as 
the  destroyer  of  patrician  aristocracy  at  Rome."  These  words 
expressed  the  daring  resolution  of  their  author,  which  he  lived 
to  accomplish,  and  which  enabled  him  to  say  on  his  death-bed, 
"  I  carry  to  my  grave  the  shreds  of  the  monarchy."  So  true 
is  this  that,  although  there  have  been  a  few  royal  puppets  since, 
we  hope  Louis  Philippe  correctly  said,  in  his  recent  flight,  "  I 
am  the  last  king  of  France." 

It  is  matter  for  devout  acknowledgment  that  the  Church  of 
Christ,  like  every  thing  else  really  good,  is  progressive,  and 
is  destined  to  sweep  away  every  obstacle,  become  as  universal 
as  the  wants  of  our  race,  free  as  the  dew  and  effulgence  of 
heaven.  She  marches  nearer  and  ever  nearer  to  the  infinite 
grandeur  of  the  universe,  and  the  perfect  unity  of  its  God.  We 
are  to  look  perpetually  forward,  and  press  toward  the  mark  of 
our  high  calling,  cultivating  the  conservatism,  not  of  bigoted 
feudality,  but  of  generous  fraternity,  holiness,  and  joy.  Yester- 
day we  cannot  bring  back ;  it  is  antiquated :  our  duty  is  to  perform 
the  duties  of  a  better  to-day,  and  anticipate  a  still  more  glorious 
to-morrow.  Christianity  must  not  be  allowed  to  lag  behind 
the  other  elements  of  civilization  which  it  so  much  excels. 
Every  new  power  that  Science  discovers,  Religion  hallows  and 
consecrates  to  the  widest  advantage  of  all  ranks,  or  they  inevi- 
tably suffer  together  the  greatest  harm.  True  development  is 
a  constant  growth  from  the  past  into  the  future,  at  every 
advance  imbibing  the  mystic  and  mighty  agencies  by  which 
the  heart  is  purified,  intellect  enlarged,  and  the  whole  person 
fitted  to  serve  God  and  man.  As  it  is  with  individuals,  so  is  it 
with  the  church  as  a  whole.  If  it  remains  stationary  a  mo- 
ment, incompetent  to  satisfy  the  religious  wants,  or  graf»ple 
with  the  religious  perils,  of  an  era  characterized  by  great  social 
and  political  revolutions,  then  must  it  perish,  or  receive  from 


THE  CHURCH  WITHOUT  AN  ARISTOCRAT.        285 

some  new  source  immediate  accessions  of  intelligence  and 
force.  Hence  do  we  see  modern  Christianity,  true  to  her 
mission  of  progress,  gaining  new  vigor  every  day  from  inno- 
vators within  her  fold,  who  float  more  freely  between  habits  of 
ancient  submission,  associations  of  bigoted  attachment,  and 
allegiance  to  revolutionary  ideas. 

All  auspices  indicate  the  dawn  of  a  new  era.  Storms  gather 
with  irresistible  might  to  sweep  down  thrones,  disperse  mitres, 
chastise  aristocratic  and  priestly  arrogance,  awaken  the  masses 
to  a  sense  of  their  capacities  as  well  as  their  wrongs,  and  give 
stability  to  free  institutions  every  where,  by  giving  elevation  of 
sentiment  to  all  classes  of  mankind.  Then  rulers  will  under- 
stand that  one  of  the  best  means  of  improving  men  is  season- 
ably and  generously  to  employ  them  ;  that  the  good  of  the 
laborer  is  to  be  regarded,  as  well  as  the  profit  to  be  derived 
from  his  toil.  Then,  too,  it  will  be  known  that  the  vitality  of 
Christianity  is  in  itself,  or  rather  in  the  will,  precepts,  and  exam- 
ple of  its  divine  Founder ;  not  in  arid  creeds,  sacerdotal  des- 
potisms, and  hollow  forms.  True  devotees,  then,  will  be  genteel 
and  highly  accomplished,  not  by  an  imprudent  or  effeminate 
unison  with  the  taste's  and  customs  of  feudalism,  ancient  or 
modern,  but  by  a  profound  and  yet  independent  reverence  for 
virtue,  rather  than  rank  ;  for  worth,  more  than  wealth.  Should 
we  live  to  enjoy  the  full  splendors  of  that  day,  we  shall  have 
learned,  beyond  all  present  experience,  that  to  be  the  servant 
of  all  is  to  command  all ;  to  give  is  to  receive  ;  to  love  is  to 
be  loved ;  to  die  is  to  live  ;  that  true  happiness  consists  in  the 
flowing  out  of  our  affections  upon  others,  rather  than  the 
flowing  in  of  their  treasures  or  affections  upon  ourselves  ;  —  that 
dispersion,  not  accumulation  ;  self-spending,  not  self-seeking ; 
is  the  grand  design  of  our  earthly  existence  and  its  highest 
reward. 

We  have  already  seen  that  the  first  home  of  true  religious 
freedom  was  in  a  few  hearts  among  the  first  colonists  of  this 
western  world.  The  Roman  Catholics  of  Maryland,  dreading 
the   aggression   of  English  bigotry,   and   profiting  by  Roger 


286  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

Williams's  wise  liberality,  on  April  21, 1649,  placed  upon  their 
statute-book  the  following  noble  act :  "  Whereas  the  enforcing 
of  the  conscience  in  matters  of  religion  hath  frequently  fallen 
out  to  be  of  dangerous  consequence  in  those  commonwealths 
where  it  has  been  practised,  and  for  the  more  quiet  and  peace- 
able government  of  this  province,  and  the  better  to  preserve 
mutual  love  and  amity  among  the  inhabitants,  no  person  within 
this  province,  professing  to  believe  in  Jesus  Christ,  shall  be  any 
ways  troubled,  molested,  or  discountenanced,  for  his  or  her 
religion,  or  in  the  free  exercise  thereof."  But  notwithstanding 
these  generous  and  Christian  movements  on  the  part  of  reli- 
gionists who  differed  most  widely  in  their  tenets,  their  mutual 
foes  in  Massachusetts  soon  employed 

"  The  skeptic's  might,  the  crosier's  pride, 
The  shackle  and  the  stake," — 

if  not  to  mangle  their  flesh  with  the  enginery  of  the  most  fiend- 
ish bigotry,  to  attempt  what  is  worse,  and  "  lock  its  hard  fet- 
ters on  the  mind."  Too  soon  for  the  peace  and  honor  of  that 
age,  but  not  too  speedily  and  outrageously  for  a  warning  to  all 
time,  and  the  ultimate  disinthralment  of  all  men  from  priestly 
and  aristocratic  domination,  came  the  actors  and  their  acts,  cel- 
ebrated by  Whittier :  — 

**  O,  glorious  days,  when  church  and  state 
"Were  wedded  by  your  spiritual  fathers  ! 
And  on  submissive  shoulders  sat 

Your  Wilsons  and  your  Cotton  Mathers. 

"  Then  -wholesome  laws  relieved  the  church 
Of  heretic  and  mischief-maker ; 
And  priest  and  bailiff  joined  in  search, 
By  turns,  of  Papist,  "Witch,  and  Quaker ! 

"  The  stocks  were  at  each  church's  door ; 
The  gallows  stood  on  Boston  Common  ; 
A  Papist's  ears  the  pillory  bore  — 
The  gallows-rope,  a  Quaker  woman." 


THE  CHURCH  WITHOUT  AN  ARISTOCRAT.        287 

Who  were  the  bold  advocates  of  religious  liberty  in  this 
country  in  her  first  struggles,  and  who  have  been  her  stanch 
friends  every  where  ever  since  ?  Says  the  "New  Englander," 
(not  a  Baptist  magazine,)  "Among  them,  in  the  providence  of 
God,  American  Baptists  seem  to  have  been  called  to  lead  the 
van.  In  the  report  on  the  subject  of  European  missions,  which 
was  adopted  at  the  last  meeting  of  the  general  convention  in 
Philadelphia,  American  Baptists  have  put  this  testimony  on 
record :  — 

"  '  In  Greece,  the  great  practical  value  of  our  principle,  —  to 
recognize  no  national  church,  but  to  build  up  churches  of  spir- 
itual Christians  that  shall  be  independent  of  the  state,  and  in- 
dependent of  each  other,  —  has  been  early  and  signally  mani- 
fested. To  attempt  to  reform,  by  fraternization,  the  corrupt 
national  churches  of  the  East,  is,  we  believe,  a  fruitless 
effort.  We  act  on  another  principle.  A  church,  composed 
only  of  hopeful  converts,  independent,  and,  as  far  as  man  gov- 
erns it,  self  governed,  is  our  view  of  the  New  Testament  polity, 

AND    OUR    SCHEME    FOR    MODERN    MISSIONS.' 

"  That  is  the  American  Baptists'  stand.  Be  it  theirs  to 
maintain  it  every  where,  in  good  faith  and  entire.  In  doing  so, 
let  them,  by  prayer,  sympathy,  and  succor,  stand  by  their  per- 
secuted brethren  in  Germany  and  Denmark  ;  let  them  encour- 
age and  uphold  their  suffering  brethren'  in  France,  and  if 
4  Protestant  evangelists  and  colporteurs,1  sustained,  perchance, 
by  American  funds,  make  common  cause  with  high-church 
'  Nationals,'  in  multiplying  their  afflictions  and  upholding  the 
doctrine  of  state  alliance  and  control,  let  them  tell  the  story, 
as  in  the  last  report  of  their  Board  of  Missions,  to  all  the 
churches,  and  they  will  see  that  American  Christians  of  other 
names  will  not  send  funds  across  the  Atlantic,  to  help  the 
vengeful  bond  woman  to  beget  abortions,  or  to  strangle  at  the 
birth  the  free  babes  of  the  free  woman ;  just  when  her  Lord, 
too,  is  saying,  '  Rejoice,  thou  barren,  that  bearest  not ;  break 
forth  and  cry,  thou  that  travailest  not ;  for  the  desolate  hath 
many  more  children  than  she  which  hath  a  husband.'     Let 


288  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

them,  in  the  same  spirit,  bid  their  brethren  in  Greece  be  of 
good  courage  and  fear  not,  both  to  preach  and  to  baptize  in  the 
name  of  the  Lord  Jesus ;  and  if  those  good  brethren  dare  not 
do  so,  let  American  Baptists  unite  with  the  weak,  and  timid, 
and  prudent  of  other  faiths,  and  call  home  all  Protestant  mis- 
sionaries from  the  East,  '  to  stay  in  Jericho  till  their  beards  be 
grown,'  or  other  men  are  found,  who,  like  Paul,  will  carry  the 
gospel  there,  and  bear  themselves,  in  its  propagation,  in  respect 
to  civil  relations  and  authorities,  worthily  of  the  gospel  of 
Christ ;  or,  like  Christ,  will  be  ready  to  obey  unto  death  in  the 
maintenance  therein  of  his  supremacy  over  all  authorities, 
whether  of  heaven,  earth,  or  hell." 

This  was  published  in  July,  1845 ;  and  since  then  what  has 
the  same  denomination  done  for  civil  and  religious  liberty  in 
Asia,  Africa,  and  Europe,  especially  in  those  grand  fields  of 
modern  civilization  —  France  and  Germany  ? 

We  believe  that  nobler  conflicts  are  yet  to  be  fought,  and 
ampler  trophies  won.  Heaven  has  evidently  predestined  the 
Christian  heroes  of  this  age  "  to  fight  the  battles  of  the  future 
now,"  and  woe  be  to  him  who  is  too  imbecile  or  cowardly  for 
the  strife.  The  era  has  come  when,  as  a  redeeming  and  con- 
trolling agent,  the  days  of  expediency,  priestly  cunning,  and 
aristocratic  compulsion,  are  numbered,  and  henceforth  not 
power,  nor  conventional  morality,  nor  parasitical  talent,  but 
truth,  simple,  unshackled,  and  sublime,  is  the  untaxed  dowry  of 
every  Christian  soul,  and  the  only  crowned  monarch  of  all 
mankind.  There  is  a  luminary  risen  fairer  and  more  extended 
than  all  other  lights  —  even  the  word  that  was  in  the  beginning ; 
the  all-blessing  effulgence  of  the  highest  Heaven,  of  which 
solar  beams  are  but  the  Shechinah  and  cloudy  tabernacle  ;  the 
blessed  word  that  shines  for  all,  and  giveth  eternal  life  to  as 
many  as  seek  to  be  transformed  by  his  influence.  He  has 
offered  himself,  a  divine  atonement  for  the  sins  of  the  whole 
world,  thus  abolishing  all  lesser  sacrifices,  and  destroying  the 
functions  of  all  other  priests.  He  has  taught  us  to  call  no  man 
master,  and  in  no  way  to  create  in  others  or  ourselves  the 


THE    CHURCH    WITHOUT    AN    ARISTOCRAT.  289 

degradation  of  a  slave.  He  has  planted  on  earth  a  sacred  asso- 
ciation of  members  every  way  equal  to  each  other,  and  mu- 
tually esteemed  ;  and  this  perfect  model  of  republicanism,  given 
to  the  world  eighteen  hundred  years  ago,  Christ  carefully  iso- 
lated from  kings  and  popes,  bishops  and  priests ;  and  that  these 
four  classes  of  tyrants  may  ever  be  deprived  of  their  chief 
support,  he  would  most  zealously  banish  from  the  holy  broth- 
erhood every  aristocrat. 
25 


PART    III 


THE   REPUBLICAN   INFLUENCE   OF 
CHRISTIAN   DOCTRINE. 


"  Though  all  the  winds  of  doctrine  were  let  loose  to  play  upon  the 
earth,  so  Truth  be  in  the  field,  we  do  injuriously  by  licensing  and  prohibit- 
ing to  misdoubt  her  strength.  Let  her  and  Falsehood  grapple  ;  who  ever 
knew  Truth  put  to  the  worse  in  a  free  and  open  encounter  ?  Her  confuting 
is  the  best  and  surest  suppressing.  .  .  .  For  who  knows  not  that  Truth  is 
strong  next  to  Almighty  ?  She  needs  no  policies,  nor  stratagems,  nor 
licensings,  to  make  her  victorious  ;  those  are  the  shifts  and  the  defences 
that  Error  uses  against  her  power.  Give  her  but  room,  and  do  not  bind 
her  when  she  sleeps."  —  Milton's  Areopagitica. 

"  If  there  be  any  among  us  who  would  wish  to  dissolve  this  Union,  or 
to  change  its  republican  form,  let  them  stand  undisturbed  as  monuments 
of  the  safety  with  which  error  of  opinion  may  be  tolerated,  where  reason 
is  left  free  to  combat  it."  —  Jefferson's  Inaugural  Address. 

"  Croyez-vous  que  le  lache,  qui  traine  en  tout  lieu  la  chaine  de  l'esclave, 
soit  moins  charge  que  l'homme  de  courage  qui  porte  les  fers  du  prison- 
nier  ?  "  —  Paroles  d'un  Croyant. 

"If  the  Son  therefore  shall  make  you  free,  ye  shall  be  free  indeed." 
"  And  there  shall  be  one  fold  and  one  shepherd."  —  Jesus  Christ. 


CHAPTER  I. 

CHRISTIANITY  THE  SOLACE  OF  THE 
OBSCURE. 

In  parts  first  and  second  of  this  work  on  Republican  Chris- 
tianity, we  have  portrayed  the  progressive  character  of  Christ, 
and  the  spirit  of  the  primitive  church.  It  remains  to  discuss  the 
republican  influence  of  Christian  doctrine  ;  and  our  first  duty 
will  be  to  show  that  it  is  Heaven's  best  solace  to  hidden 
rninds. 

Under  this  general  head,  three  points  are  to  be  discussed,  as 
follows :  Christianity  arose  in  the  deepest  gloom  ;  is  designed 
to  mitigate  the  keenest  pangs ;  and  pour  solace  upon  the 
obscurest  children  of  mankind. 

First,  it  was  in  the  deepest  gloom  that  our  holy  religion  arose 
to  diffuse  its  light  and  blessedness  all  over  earth.  This  is 
"  the  dayspring  from  on  high,  which  has  visited  us,  to  give 
light  to  them  that  sit  in  darkness,  and  in  the  shadow  of  death, 
to  guide  our  feet  into  the  way  of  peace."  From  the  darkest 
night,  the  Sun  of  righteousness  burst  on  our  world  with  healing 
on  his  wings,  light  and  joy  for  all.  Christianity  is  not  the 
religion  of  a  sect  or  section,  the  tool  of  kings,  popes,  councils, 
hierarchies,  synods,  or  creed-makers,  but  Heaven's  own  sys- 
tem of  infallible  truth  and  free  salvation,  with  few  doctrines 
necessary  to  be  believed,  and  many  duties  necessary  to  be 
performed. 

Human  society  is  a  natural  condition,  the  state  necessary 
for  man  ;  since  without  sociality  man  could  neither  reproduce 
nor  preserve  himself.  Hence  religion,  without  which  social 
institutions  cannot  exist,  is  necessary  as  society  itself,  and 
cannot   be   a   mere   human   invention.      If  our   existence   is 


292 


REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 


designed  for  some  exalted  end,  as  that  of  all  beings,  it  is  evi- 
dent that  the  end  designed  cannot  be  attained  but  by  the  aid  of 
revelation,  which  alone  can  give  us  positive  information  in 
relation  to  our  nature,  origin,  and  destiny,  while  it  guaranties 
the  possession  of  that  which  is  supremely  good  and  true.  Chris- 
tianity, as  it  is  found  in  the  New  Testament,  is  "  ordained  to 
better  and  to  beautify  existence  as  it  is  ;  "  a  religion  of  love  and 
saving  grace,  addressing  itself  to  the  head  and  to  the  heart ; 
in  harmony  with  the  natural  as  well  as  moral  world ;  and 
bringing  to  all  the  magnificent  proofs  of  Deity  without  us, 
and  the  still  more  impressive  proofs  of  Deity  within  us ;  a 
religion  which  is  adapted  to  man's  condition  and  wants  every 
where,  admitting  no  compromise  with  vice,  making  sincerity 
the  test  of  sanctity,  and  practical  benevolence  the  test  of 
sincerity. 

True  religion  is  every  way  infinite,  because  it  is  all  full  of 
God.  Between  it  and  our  faculties  there  is  a  perfect  harmony  ; 
therefore,  in  all  time,  and  in  every  place,  man,  naturally 
inclined  to  worship  in  some  form,  has  felt  the  need  of  being 
enlightened  by  divine  doctrines,  consoled,  vivified  by  lofty 
hopes,  and  conducted  by  unerring  precepts.  The  more  reli- 
gion is  pure,  holy,  and  vigorous  in  its  claims  of  truth  and 
justice,  the  greater  is  its  power  over  man,  and  the  more  is  it 
conformed  to  his  nature,  despite  the  disasters  of  the  fall. 
Hence,  in  every  region  of  earth,  Christianity  has  only  to  be 
proclaimed  in  purity  to  be  universally  heard.  The  follies  and 
crimes  of  paganism,  superstition,  bigotry,  and  fanaticism,  can- 
not long  resist  its  influence,  taint  its  spotless  purity,  nor  pre- 
vent its  diffusion  even  in  the  darkest  corners  of  earth,  where, 
as  on  the  boldest  heights,  its  prerogative  is  to  create  the  "  sun- 
minds  that  warm  the  world  to  love,  and  worship,  and  bright 
life." 

The  voice  that  cries,  "  Prepare  ye  the  way  of  the  Lord,  make 
his  paths  straight,1'  always  resounds  in  the  desert  rather  than  in 
the  garden,  among  the  masses  of  the  obscure,  who  pant  for 
improvement,  and  not  in  the  halls  of  the  luxurious,  already 


CHRISTIANITY   THE    SOLACE    OF    THE    OBSCURE.  293 

satiated  with  ease.  Christ  has  taught  us  not  to  seek  him  in  a 
terrestrial  paradise,  but  in  the  Nazareths  of  virtuous  penury, 
the  Bethanies  of  simple  domestic  joys,  the  Gethsemanes  of 
agonizing  prayer,  on  the  Calvaries  of  martyrdom,  and  the 
Olivets  of  triumphal  ascent  from  earthly  sufferings  to  immor- 
tal joys.  He  who  came  down  from  the  Father  of  lights, 
kindled  the  mild  splendors  of  Christianity  first  in  the  most  hid- 
den vales,  not  that  the  more  prominent  should  be  left  benighted, 
but  that  the  most  unfortunate  should  be  especially  blessed. 

As  the  young  eye  of  Christ  opened  upon  the  world  he  came 
to  redeem,  he  every  where  saw  vice  and  tyranny  in  the 
ascendant,  crime  and  imposture  ruling  supreme.  He  had  not 
made  kings  to  destroy  their  fellow-men,  nor  priests  to  harness 
them,  like  brutes,  to  regal  chariots,  thus  in  the  person  of  reli- 
gionists giving  to  the  world  the  basest  example  of  pride,  perfidy, 
and  avarice,  to  debauch  and  destroy ;  but  as  he  had  built  the 
universe  to  proclaim  his  power,  so  he  came  to  enlighten  and 
protect  the  feeblest  of  the  rational  creation,  the  most  glorious 
manifestation  of  his  mercy.  It  is  in  this  respect,  especially, 
that  Christianity  excels  all  preceding  religions.  It  alone  lays 
a  pure  basis,  adapted  to  the  community  at  large,  inculcating 
the  spirit  of  universal  authority,  and  at  the  same  time  of  such 
a  character  as  to  unite  all  hearts  together,  and  bind  them  to 
God  himself.  This  was  an  innovation  upon  all  local  systems, 
an  overthrow  of  all  contracted  creeds,  of  which  Plato,  for 
instance,  the  wisest  of  uninspired  reformers,  never  dreamed. 
Says  he,  "  No  man  who  has  sense,  whether  he  undertakes  to 
erect  a  new  state  from  the  very  foundation,  or  merely  to  restore 
an  old  one  which  has  been  broken  down,  will  attempt  to  change 
those  things  relative  to  the  gods  and  to  sacred  ceremonies 
which  ought  to  be  stable,  —  from  whatever  gods  or  demons 
they  may  have  received  their  appellation.  Nor  should  the 
legislator  touch  in  any  respect  that  which  is  founded  upon  the 
authority  of  the  oracle,  or  upon  sacred  old  sayings."  We 
should  infer  from  language  like  this  that  paganism,  as  religion, 
never  rose  to  the  full  conception  of  the  Divine,  as  something 
25* 


294  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

holy,  spiritual,  individual,  and  superior  to  nature.  Judaism,  on 
the  other  hand,  was  an  ethical,  monotheistic  religion,  distin- 
guishing God  from  the  world,  it  is  true,  but,  like  preceding 
systems,  leaving  man  more  as  a  phantom  of  another  state  of 
being  than  as  a  social  creature  to  be  cultivated  in  this.  The 
great  difficulty  was,  that  whilst  paganism  confused  the  ideas 
of  the  Divine  and  Human,  of  God  and  Nature,  Judaism  not 
merely  distinguished,  but  separated  them.  Christ  came  to 
correct  this  fatal  falsity  of  view,  and  placed  the  whole  truth, 
unmutilated  and  unobscured,  palpably  before  the  eyes  of  all 
mankind.  He  taught  and  exemplified  his  teaching  in  his  own 
wonderful  person,  that  all  true  religion  has  both  a  divine  and  a 
human  character.  He  showed  from  the  nature  of  God,  as  Spirit 
and  Love,  that  he  should  communicate  himself  to  his  creatures, 
even  the  most  lowly,  receive  them  into  intercourse  with  him- 
self, and  impart  to  each  some  measure  of  the  fulness  of  his 
own  infinite  blessedness.  This  is  at  once  the  origin  and  con- 
summation of  Christianity.  "  God  reveals  and  communicates 
himself;  man  accepts  this  revelation,  and  enters  into  this  com- 
munion. All  genuine  religion  is  therefore  of  divine  origin. 
But  this  is  only  one  side  of  the  question  ;  there  is  another,  also 
of  much  importance.  This  divine  message  can  be  received 
by  mankind  only  through  means  adapted  to  human  capacities. 
Revelation  has  to  work  upon  the  human  mind,  with  all  the  fac- 
ulties and  susceptibilities  with  which  it  has  been  endowed  for 
this  very  purpose,  and  which  constitute  its  rational  character. 
Nor  is  this  all.  This  mind,  at  whatever  period  revelation  is  com- 
municated, must  be  in  some  particular  stage  of  progress,  and 
under  some  peculiar  historical  influences.  Thus  all  true,  liv- 
ing religion  must  have  also  a  human  form,  an  historical  impress 
and  character.  But  while  this  is  the  case  with  all  religion,  it  is 
especially  so  with  Christianity.  No  religion  is  at  once  so  divine 
and  so  human,  so  creative  and  original,  and  at  the  same  time 
so  deeply  and  grandly  historical,  as  this ;  and  in  none  are  the 
two  elements  so  entirely  and  so  indissolubly  united.  The 
grand   ideas  which  form   the  basis  of  all  religion   are   here 


CHRISTIANITY  THE  SOLACE  OF  THE  OBSCURE.     295 

presented  in  their  greatest  perfection  and  simplicity;  God 
manifests  himself  in  a  form  wholly  corresponding  with  his 
character,  and  imbued  with  his  spirit;  and  this  type  of  his 
perfections  is  a  ?nan,  thinking,  feeling,  acting,  and  suffering ; 
as  a  man,  exemplifying  every  human  quality  in  its  entire  sim- 
plicity and  truth,  condescending  lovingly  to  the  smallest  human 
interests,  and  thus  investing  them  with  a  divine  glory.  Viewed 
in  this  light,  Christianity  appears  divine  in  its  essence,  human 
in  its  form  ;  divine  in  its  origin,  human  in  its  imbodiment  and 
development.  It  possesses  the  full  originality  and  independ- 
ence of  a  new  religious  creation,  such  as  could  proceed  only 
from  an  immediate  divine  impulse  ;  and  is  yet  in  the  fullest 
sense  historical,  bearing  the  most  intimate  relation  to  the  whole 
previous  training  and  progress  of  the  human  race.  It  appeared 
when  the  fulness  of  time  was  accomplished ;  it  is  entwined  by 
a  thousand  threads  with  reality ;  and  has  been,  ever  since  its 
first  appearance  in  the  world,  so  completely  the  moving  spring 
of  history,  that  we  cannot  but  regard  it  as  the  germ  of  the 
higher  development  of  humanity ;  while,  superior  both  to  rea- 
son and  nature,  it  is  at  the  same  time  the  highest  reason  and 
the  truest  nature.  For  no  reason  could  have  invented,  no 
reflection  discovered,  that  which  forms  the  central  point  of 
Christianity ;  the  self-sacrifice  made  by  divine  love  on  the 
cross,  for  the  sake  of  sinful  humanity  ;  and  yet  both  recognize 
therein  the  only  effectual  means  for  the  redemption  and  regen- 
eration of  humanity." 

Christianity  alone  distinguishes  between  God  and  man  with- 
out dividing,  portraying  the  true  characters  of  both,  and  realiz- 
ing their  perfect  union  in  the  person  of  its  divine  Author.  It 
teaches  the  perfect  holiness  of  God,  but  at  the  same  time  his 
infinite  grace  and  condescension  to  our  fallen  race  ;  the  dis- 
tinctly human  nature  of  man,  but  also  his  divine  origin  and 
capacities.  In  this  respect  has  our  holy  religion  attained  the 
end  to  which  all  previous  systems  vainly  aspired,  being  the 
grand  luminary  of  absolute,  unchangeable  Truth,  into  whose 
effulgence  all  the  subordinate  beams  of  imperfect  systems  are 


REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

sublimely  merged.  And  it  is  the  highest  glory  of  "  the  day- 
spring  from  on  high,  which  hath  visited  us,"  that  it  arose  in  the 
deepest  gloom,  on  purpose  to  pour  solace  on  the  most  obscure. 
Secondly,  Christianity  is  designed  to  mitigate  the  keenest 
pangs.  All  religion  not  intrinsically  Christian  is  deficient  in 
respect  to  the  prime  element  of  true  morality  —  sympathy  for 
hidden  suffering.  This  was  one  of  the  fatal  defects  that  pre- 
vailed in  the  morality  of  pagan  antiquity.  Apart  from  the 
fact,  that  it  favored  selfish  principles  mainly,  and  constituted 
merely  a  system  of  rules  for  sensual  gratification,  which  ren- 
dered man  a  proud  and  obdurate  being,  it  exerted  no  influence 
upon  the  great  mass  of  the  common  people,  and  had  no  tender 
emotions  to  soothe  the  suffering  poor.  Its  guardians  satisfied 
themselves  with  disputing  in  their  schools  about  certain  abstract 
principles,  and  left  the  struggling  people  to  their  fate.  All 
moral  restraint  and  fraternal  obligations  derived  their  chief 
support  from  traditionary  customs,  dogmatical  ceremonies,  and 
mercenary  maxims ;  and  even  this  poor  basis,  always  weak, 
was  rendered  still  more  insecure  and  pernicious  by  the  preva- 
lence of  the  most  degrading  superstition.  But  such  disposi- 
tions, feelings,  and  moral  habits,  Christ  came  to  extirpate, 
and  to  substitute  in  their  place  the  most  salutary  laws  of 
personal  and  social  improvement.  The  feeble  and  unfor- 
tunate were  no  longer  to  be  despised,  but  as  brethren  to  be 
recognized  and  protected.  Matrimony  was  to  cease  being  a 
state  for  the  male  to  exercise  unjust  dominion  over  the  fe- 
male, and  keep  her  in  miserable  bondage.  Every  house 
was  to  become  a  temple,  and  every  inhabitant,  however 
humble  and  destitute,  to  be  ennobled,  improved,  and  conse- 
crated to  the  service  of  God  and  mankind.  Animated  by 
the  highest  and  purest  mutual  esteem,  every  family,  neigh- 
borhood, and  state  was  to  become  a  venerable  and  beneficent 
whole,  wherein  all  should  be  equals,  and  none  abused.  How 
desirable  a  consummation  is  this !  Said  Plato,  "  Could  we 
create  so  close,  tender,  and  cordial  a  connection  between  the 
citizens  of  a  state,  as  to  induce  all  to  consider  themselves  as 


CHRISTIANITY    THE    SOLACE    OF    THE    OBSCURE.  297 

relatives,  as  fathers,  brothers,  and  sisters,  then  this  whole  state 
would  constitute  but  a  single  family,  be  subjected  to  the  most 
perfect  regulations,  and  become  the  happiest  republic  that  ever 
existed  upon  earth."  What  Athena's  sage  vainly  hoped  to 
accomplish  by  the  feeble  power  of  consanguinity,  the  obscure 
Teacher  of  Nazareth  will  accomplish  through  fraternal  love 
and  grace  divine.  By  the  legitimate  influence  of  Christianity 
alone  can  the  citizens  of  this  world  be  united  together  in  such 
a  manner,  that  they  will  become  harmonious  members  of  the 
same  body,  and  yield  each  other  constant  assistance,  by  labor- 
ing together  for  the  common  good,  mutually  participating  in 
the  cares  of  each,  and  tenderly  mitigating  the  sorrows  of  all. 
Then  will  the  rich  and  powerful  search  for  those  condemned 
by  want  and  misfortune  to  dwell  "  in  dead  Hadean  shades," 
and  from  the  deepest  gloom  agonized  merit  will  emerge,  "  as 
of  yore  out  of  the  grave  rose  God." 

The  proper  excitement  and  beneficent  use  of  our  sympa- 
thies conduces  powerfully  to  the  best  mental  cultivation. 
Christianity  is  founded  on  this  principle ;  for  it  is  a  central 
light,  which  imparts  a  proper  tone  to  all  surrounding  objects, 
and  is  designed  to  pierce  the  obscurest  depths,  as  well  as  adorn 
the  loftiest  heights,  of  society.  Having  the  revelation  of  God's 
will  and  the  example  of  Jesus  Christ  especially  before  us,  we 
learn  that  correct  believing  and  merciful  acting,  equally  and 
perpetually  combined,  are  indispensable  to  the  formation  of 
perfect  moral  worth. 

"  All  declare 
For  what  the  Eternal  Maker  has  ordained 
The  powers  of  man  :  we  feel  within  ourselves 
His  energy  divine :  he  tells  the  heart 
He  meant,  he  made  us  to  behold  and  love 
What  he  beholds  and  loves,  the  general  orb 
Of  life  and  being  —  to  be  great  like  him, 
Beneficent  and  active." 

Novalis  has  beautifully  said,  that  man  stands  with  the  visible 
universe  in  as  various  and  incomprehensible  relations  as  with 


298  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

his  fellow-men  ;  that,  as  it  shows  itself  childlike  to  the  child, 
and  bends  itself  condescendingly  to  his  childish  heart,  so  does 
it  appear  godlike  to  divine  men,  and  sound  in  harmony  with  the 
highest  spirit.  It  is  the  strongest  passion  and  highest  delight 
of  many  in  the  lowest .  walks  of  human  life,  "  nature's  low 
tones  and  harmonies  to  hear  —  heard  by  the  calm  alone."  To 
these  tones,  to  these  harmonic  sympathies  pervading  all  worlds, 
they  possess  the  acutest  sensibility,  and  by  them  are  inspired 
with  the  loftiest  aspirations.  Their  hearts  shine  through  their 
native  lowliness  like  live  coals  through  ashes,  and  they  instinc- 
tively soar  on  high  to  "  search  the  golden-globed  skies  for  deeds 
of  grace."  It  is  the  prerogative  of  Christianity  to  succor, 
guide,  and  console  such,  and  has  planted  disciples  here  below 
that  light  may  issue  from  them  to  impart  warmth  and  lustre  to 
every  needy  soul.  Thanks  to  its  benign  influence,  there  never 
need  be  winter  in  the  spiritual  regions  most  genial  to  tender 
minds,  nor  need  sympathizing  spirits  ever  be  cut  off  from  each 
other,  and  frost-bound  by  selfishness,  but  all  may  be  fused 
everlastingly  into  one  living  whole  by  the  breath  of  heavenly 
love.  The  great  Teacher  of  universal  brotherhood  smiles 
down  upon  our  race  in  common,  teaching  man  every  where 
to  be  merciful  to  his  fellow-man,  and,  with  the  gentlest 
regards,  wooing  the  obscure  into  the  bland  splendors  of  his 
presence,  to  "  lift  up  their  hearts,  like  grass  blades  to  the 
sun." 

Mental  and  moral  cultivation  has  too  often,  hitherto,  been  a 
gift  thrown  into  the  lap  of  affluence  alone  ;  but  the  doctrines 
of  the  cross  would  make  it  a  garland  twined  round  the  brow 
of  the  poorest  child  of  Adam,  rendering  him  joyfully  radiant, 
and  bounding  from  the  conquest  of  a  thousand  perils  and  pangs. 
Christianity  aims  to  regenerate  and  perpetually  improve  the 
moral  nature  of  the  masses  of  the  people,  strowing  her  richest 
and  most  roseate  blessings  on  the  million  victims  whom  re- 
morseless Mammon  has  trampled  under  his  all  but  omnipotent 
foot.  It  comes  with  cheering  words  and  timely  patronage  to 
those  whose  hearts  are  wrinkled  long  before  their  brow,  wasted 


CHRISTIANITY    THE    SOLACE    OF    THE    OBSCURE.  299 

by  worldly  neglect,  or  broken  by  oppressive  care,  and  plants 
therein  healing  joys  and  auspicious  hopes 

"  More  pure  than  dewdrops,  Nature's  tears,  which  she 
Sheds  in  her  own  breast  for  the  fair  which  die." 

In  the  life  and  lessons  of  Christ  is  traced  the  influence  of 
those  agencies  given  to  mould  and  bless  our  world  in  all  its 
unceasing  process  of  creation  and  improvement.  Until  regen- 
eration is  perfect  and  universal,  the  first  step  will  ever  be  regard 
for  the  feeble,  and  the  last,  martyrdom  to  the  malignity  of  the 
powerful.  In  the  mean  while,  humanity  will  not  cease  to  march 
steadily  upward  toward  perfection.  Every  step  of  progres- 
sive light  and  improvement,  from  the  manger  wherein  virgin 
worth  lays  her  poorest  child,  to  the  throne  of  ultimate  and  tri- 
umphant grandeur,  Christ  attends  the  race  he  came  to  console 
in  the  darkest  hour,  its  Redeemer,  illumination,  and  reward. 
Compelled  as  we  are,  by  the  necessities  of  our  being,  to  look 
to  the  outward  world  for  much  of  our  comfort,  and  for  no  small 
share  of  our  happiness,  Christ  would  counsel  us  rather  to  look 
within  our  own  bosoms  for  the  best  law,  guidance,  salvation, 
and  God.  With  earnest  love  he  transfers  to  his  disciples  the 
truths  which  the  pangs  of  his  earthly  experience  stamped  on 
his  innermost  soul,  and  would  have  us  never  forget  that  what- 
ever he  draws  as  an  illustration  from  his  own  nature  has  its 
counterpart  in  our  nature,  and  that  he  suggests  advice  and 
inspires  purposes  divine  in  our  hearts,  in  order  that  we  may 
raise  ourselves  from  the  prostration  of  worldliness  to  soar  to 
the  infinite  spiritualities  of  heaven.  This  ambition,  so  useful 
and  pure,  God  most  often  kindles  in  the  darkest  and  bleakest 
nooks  of  earth,  prompting  the  sons  of  penury  to  joy  in  their 
fearful  strife,  "  even  as  an  eagle,  nigh  famished,  in  the  fellow- 
ship of  storms."  In  these  emergencies,  wherewith  talent  is 
elicited  and  worth  matured,  success  results  only  from  an  humble 
but  firm  resolve  to  be  individual,  a  being  girt  with  that  unity 
of  manhood  and  divinity  that  God  designed.  Such  a  purpose 
is  not  formed  in  moments  of  excitement  and  enthusiasm,  to  be 


300  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

abandoned  with  the  first  ebbing  of  emotion  ;  neither  is  it  a  res- 
olution barren  of  practical  use  in  the  world.  It  says,  in  all 
calmness,  and  with  the  utmost  fixedness  of  will,  "  If  no  other 
man  shall  be  found  disposed  to  stand  by  my  side  through  every 
vicissitude,  I  will  be  an  unflinching  hero  to  resist  evil,  delusion, 
and  despotism,  of  every  form."  Such  persons  are  imbued  with 
deep-seated  strength,  won  from  fiercest  elements,  and  which, 
like  manna  in  the  desert  and  wilderness,  they  can  live  upon, 
and,  "  spider-like,  spin  their  web  out  any  where."  The  pur- 
pose of  their  life  is  to  improve  mankind  in  general,  and  espe- 
cially to  encourage  those  who,  like  themselves,  have  known 
the  direst  struggles ;  to  show  them  the  beauty  of  holiness,  and 
urge  them,  by  the  most  potent  entreaty,  to  aspire  to  its  posses- 
sion ;  to  paint  before  the  eye  of  their  mind  the  ideal  of  progres- 
sive virtue,  and  to  indicate  the  agencies  by  which  individual 
perfectibility  can  best  be  attained ;  to  state  and  exemplify  the 
renouncement,  the  self-denial,  the  martyr  courage,  the  perti- 
nacity, the  unity  of  purpose,  and  earnestness  of  pursuit,  by 
which  men  may  best  fulfil  the  end  of  their  existence,  best  ac- 
complish the  will  of  their  Creator,  and  shine  with  most  health- 
ful brightness  over  the  wide  ranks  of  their  race.  To  such 
persons  religion  is  not  a  frigid,  stationary  thing ;  but,  as  soon 
as  it  has  passed  into  the  form  of  vital  experience,  its  progress 
is  thenceforth  illimitable  and  its  influence  unbounded.  As  sym- 
pathy threw  them,  when  sorrowing,  on  the  Invisible  and  Immu- 
table, and,  in  all  their  subsequent  career,  conducts  them  to  the 
same  infinite  sources  of  light  and  strength,  when  all  around 
their  dimmed  eyes  and  yearning  heart  the  visible  is  dark  and 
troubled,  so  do  they  delight  most,  in  every  interval  of  their  own 
bitter  strifes,  to  search  out  the  still  worse  conditioned,  and 
relieve  their  woes.  They  know  full  well  how  slight  an  act 
may  raise  or  sink  a  soul,  and  multiply,  in  the  most  desponding, 
those  serener  and  sublimer  moments  which  convey  the  spirit 
away  through  the  gate  of  devotion  to  the  throne  of  the  Infinite, 
where  the  poorest  are  most  bountifully  enriched,  and  the  proud- 


CHRISTIANITY    THE    SOLACE    OF    THE    OBSCURE.  301 

est  honors  of  earth  appear  less  valuable,  as  well  as  more  tran- 
sient, than  summer  dust. 

The  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  the  victim  of  oppres- 
sion and  patron  of  the  obscure,  exalts,  consoles,  and  raises  us 
above  the  sphere  of  ordinary  suffering,  chases  despair  from 
anguish,  restores  to  us  "  the  loved,  the  lost,  the  distant,  and  the 
dead,"  pours  into  minds  the  most  deeply  hurt  the  most  healing 
balm,  ministers  to  the  loftiest  hope,  and  awakens  those  imagin- 
ings which  "  bring  all  heaven  before  our  eyes."  The  sincere 
teachers  of  this  truth  will  not  tarry  on  their  errands  of  mercy 
because  of  the  rain  and  wind,  nor  will  they  wait  until  the  day 
shall  break,  when  tyrants  are  crushing  their  victim,  demons  are 
impatient  for  their  prey,  and  an  expiring  sinner  may  be  saved 
from  eternal  woe.  When  man,  loving  and  serving  his  fellow- 
man,  the  most  wretched  even,  goes  forth  in  the  tempestuous 
midnight,  ascends  wintry  hills,  traverses  the  pathless  wilder- 
ness, till,  faint,  cold,  and  dripping,  he  at  length  reaches  the 
hovel  of  deserved  and  tortured  humanity,  with  what  a  gasping 
of  inarticulate  gratitude,  interpreted  most  strongly  in  smiles 
mantling  the  cheek  of  agony,  is  his  coming  welcomed  !  There 
are  thousands  of  such  abodes,  which,  but  for  the  tender  mer- 
cies of  Christianity,  would  never  be  lighted  up  with  a  single  ray 
of  health  or  hope.  Most  persons,  like  Tacitus,  delight  to  por- 
tray the  corruptions  of  their  fellow-men,  without  once  attempt- 
ing either  to  reform  or  alleviate  them.  Instead  of  making 
human  culture  as  universal  as  heavenly  light,  the  influence  of 
redemption  coextensive  with  the  disasters  of  the  fall,  the  selfish 
would  forbid  the  sun  to  shine  beyond  the  boundaries  of  their 
own  useless  domain,  and  concentrate  their  intrinsic  meanness 
to  the  violent  enforcement  only  of  their  own  bigoted  creed. 
If  pure  and  promising  talents  start  up  in  humble  shades,  like 
rosebuds  peeping  out  of  snow,  these  tramplers  on  the  best 
hopes  of  mankind  will  stamp  down  their  first  unfoldings,  or 
leave  them  to  freeze  beyond  all  power  of  further  growth.  But 
not  so  would  Christ  have  us  deal  with  those  who  are  in  danger 
of  abiding  in  a  perpetual  Cimmerian  sojourn  ;  he  directs  each 
26 


302  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

struggling  plant  of  humanity  to  be  brought  out  into  a  genial, 
salubrious  air,  not  mutilated  by  tyranny  nor  chilled  by  neglect. 
Each  congealed  sensibility  would  the  Savior  gently  loosen  with 
the  soft  breath  of  love,  and  each  incipient  faculty  would  he 
energize  with  power  undying,  that  he  might  transform  the  most 
hidden  heart  into  a  perennial  fountain,  "  flinging  its  bright,  fresh 
feelings  up  to  the  skies  it  loves  and  strives  to  reach." 

The  noblest  are  always  the  most  tolerant,  the  basest  the  most 
arrogant,  and  the  most  deserving  the  most  uncomplaining.  We 
often  have  occasion  to  remark,  with  an  early  Greek  father,  that 
"  it  is  the  rich  and  prosperous  who  condemn  Providence,  in 
affected  pity  for  the  sufferings  of  innocence."  Said  Bernardin 
de  Saint  Pierre,  "  It  is  from  the  midst  of  voluptuous  prosperity 
that  these  murmurs  against  Providence  issue.  It  is  from  these 
libraries,  so  filled  with  light,  that  the  clouds  rise  up  which  have 
obscured  the  hopes  and  virtues  of  Europe."  "  It  is  not  Laza- 
rus," says  St.  Chrysostom,  "that  pronounces  such  blasphemy. 
He  would  have  shuddered  at  the  thought  of  it.  k  it  not  revolt- 
ing, then,  that,  while  those  whom  God  has  visited  with  all  kinds 
of  misery,  bless  him  and  give  him  thanks,  you,  who  are  only 
bare  spectators  of  the  combat  of  humanity  with  suffering,  should 
thus  blaspheme  against  Providence  ?  For,  if  the  sufferer 
should  for  a  moment  give  way  to  grief,  and  utter  some  guilty 
words,  there  would  seem  to  be  some  excuse  for  him ;  but  that 
another,  who  is  a  stranger  to  the  sorrows  of  life,  should  lose 
his  soul  and  outrage  his  Creator,  condemning  things  which  are 
regarded  by  those  who  endure  them  as  benefits,  and  a  subject 
of  gratitude,  this  certainly  is  inconceivable,  and  undeserving 
of  pardon." 

Sincere  Christians  are  the  most  uncomplaining,  however  great 
the  sufferings  they  endure,  because  they  are  most  conscious  of 
their  own  demerits  and  the  unspeakable  mercy  of  God.  If 
their  good  deeds  are  calumniated,  their  integrity  denied,  or 
their  faults  exaggerated,  they  inflict  on  their  foes  nothing  but 
tears  of  sorrow ;  for  their  heart  tells  them  to  set  against  the 
unjust  treatment  they  receive  on  earth  the  boundless  rewards 


CHRISTIANITY    THE    SOLACE    OF    THE    OBSCURE.  303 

laid  up  for  them  in  heaven.  The  lone  pilgrim  who  journeys, 
it  may  be  with  tender  feet  and  feeble  limbs,  along  the  gloomiest 
vales  of  life,  remembers  that  He  who  built  the  universe,  and 
possessed  all  treasures  within  himself,  was,  on  earth,  more  des- 
titute and  despised  than  all  the  children  of  men,  yet  bore  in  his 
youthful  bosom  a  heart  forever  swelling  with  inexhaustible 
compassion,  which  finally  broke  on  the  cross,  when,  in  the  hour 
of  dark  despair,  he  stretched  out  his  arms  to  embrace  and  bless 
a  world  redeemed. 

Thirdly,  Christianity  not  only  arose  in  the  deepest  gloom, 
and  is  designed  to  mitigate  the  keenest  pangs,  but,  in  harmony 
with  its  origin  and  first  experience,  it  also  pours  solace  upon 
the  obscurest  children  of  mankind. 

Christ  inculcated  nothing  with  more  earnestness  than  a  belief 
in  the  universal  and  impartial  love  of  the  Father  of  all,  which 
is  extended  even  to  the  feeblest  fowls  of  heaven.  He  inces- 
santly labored  to  place  the  wretched  in  an  attractive  light,  and 
cause  them  to  be  approached  with  feelings  of  benevolence  and 
esteem.  He  portrayed,  in  brilliant  and  fascinating  terms,  the 
alacrity  with  which  God  pardons  the  vicious  and  wandering,  as 
soon  as  they  repent  and  reform.  The  parable  of  the  prodigal 
son  (Luke  xv.  11 — 32)  in  the  most  touching  and  beautiful 
manner  applies  this  truth  to  the  heathen  nations,  and  represents 
them,  after  a  long  wandering,  as  returning  and  again  received 
into  their  Father's  house.  In  order  to  inspire  the  proud  and 
domineering  ranks  of  his  countrymen  with  merciful  dispositions 
toward  their  fellow-men,  Christ  employs  the  strongest  and 
most  vivid  colors  to  represent  the  exalted  worth  of  human 
nature,  and  shows  them  that  it  ought  to  be  respected  in  the 
smallest  child  even,  and  the  meanest  slave.  His  most  distinct 
command  was  to  love  all  mankind,  which  obligation,  on  our 
part,  he  grounded  upon  the  universal  love  of  the  Father  in 
heaven,  who  makes  his  sun  to  shine  equally  upon  all  nations, 
and  sends  his  rain  as  plentifully  upon  those  who  are  most 
benighted  or  deformed  by  vice,  as  upon  those  who  are  decorated 
with  the  fairest  virtues.     The  neighbor  to  be  loved  as  one's 


304  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

self  was  every  man  without  exception  ;  and,  by  thus  represent- 
ing love  to  the  weakest  and  most  unworthy  of  mankind  in  con- 
nection with  love  to  the  Almighty  Father  in  heaven,  as  the 
substance  of  all  morality,  our  Lord  entirely  and  forever  abol- 
ished all  party  considerations  in  respect  to  distinction  of  family, 
rank,  nation,  and  religion.  He  would  have  each  rational  crea- 
ture, in  his  appropriate  sphere,  fostered  with  the  tenderest 
regard,  that  each  succeeding  day  he  may  possess  more  of  mind 
and  freedom  than  he  ever  had. 

In  a  strain  of  ineffable  melody  do  we  hear  resounding  on 
the  wide  air,  from  the  sacred  mount,  "Blessed  are  the  poor  in 
spirit."  Blessed  the  poor !  Ah,  how  unlike  to  this  were  the 
wisdom  and  demeanor  of  pagan  antiquity !  Said  the  great 
Stagirite,  "  We  fear  all  evil  things,  such  as  the  loss  of  fame, 
poverty,  sickness,  friendlessness,  and  death."  The  Athenian, 
with  Plato,  would  make  a  law  in  every  state  to  this  effect  — 
"  Let  there  be  no  poor  person  in  the  city  ;  let  such  a  person  be 
banished  from  the  cities,  and  from  the  forum,  and  from  the 
country  fields,  that  the  country  may  be  altogether  pure  and  free 
from  an  animal  of  this  kind."  In  short,  for  four  thousand 
years  poverty  was  looked  upon  as  a  dreadful  evil,  a  sign  of 
malediction  ;  and,  where  true  Christianity  does  not  predomi- 
nate, the  same  sentiments  continue  to  maintain  their  ground 
among  men,  and  impel  them  to  ungenerous  deeds.  The 
children  of  penury  and  misfortune,  however  richly  they  may 
be  endowed,  are  still  regarded  as  those  vile  animals  against 
whom  the  Grecian  legislator  proposed  to  make  laws,  banishing 
them  from  every  place  of  public  resort,  that  the  more  favored 
might  not  be  annoyed  by  their  presence,  and  even  rural  seclu- 
sion be  cleared  of  their  contaminating  touch. 

All  vitiated  forms  of  Christianity,  patronized  and  enforced 
by  the  head  of  the  state,  by  princes,  nobles,  magistrates,  and 
hierarchies  of  every  form,  descend  slowly  into  the  lower  ranks, 
and  do  little  or  no  popular  good.  But  the  great  Founder  of 
the  true  church  took  exactly  the  opposite  course  ;  he  himself 
was  bom  and  began  his  divine  mission  among  the  plebeian 


CHRISTIANITY    THE    SOLACE    OF    THE    OBSCURE.  305 

classes,  the  poor  and  ignorant,  and  the  power  of  faith  ascended 
rapidly  into  the  higher  classes,  reaching  at  length  the  impe- 
rial throne.  The  two  impressions  of  these  two  origins  of  reli- 
gious belief  have  remained  distinct  on  their  respective  classes, 
manifested  in  the  magnanimous  zeal  of  one  and  the  bigoted 
mummery  of  the  other.  The  great  masses  hail  the  advent  of 
the  first,  and  are  blest  by  their  influence ;  while  to  the  exclu- 
sive arrogance  of  the  latter,  contracted  aristocratic  circles  al- 
ways furnish  the  most  favorable  soil.  So  little  alive  are  they 
to  the  natural  inference  from  this  palpable  and  disgraceful  fact, 
that  in  magnifying  national,  religious,  and  pharisaical  creeds, 
they  always  boast  of  their  wonderful  effects  in  giving  a  digni- 
fied tone  to  high  society,  the  monopoly  of  literary  elegance  to 
a  clique,  or  in  contributing  to  some  worldly  advantage,  which 
by  special  grace  should  belong  alone  to  the  ranks  above  the 
poor.  There  is  in  truth  always  a  secret  tendency  in  the  higher 
walks  of  life,  where  pride  and  affluence  reign,  to  despise  the 
company  of  the  shepherds  of  Bethlehem,  who  were  the  first  to 
believe,  as  well  as  to  scorn  treading  in  the  steps  of  those  fish- 
ermen who  were  the  first  to  obey.  But  it  would  be  well  for 
all  to  remember  what  St.  Jerome,  the  hermit  of  Bethlehem,  in 
the  fourth  century  said  :  "  The  apostles  have  written,  and  our 
Lord  himself  has  spoken  in  the  Gospels,  not  that  a  few  merely,  - 
but  that  all,  should  understand.  Plato  wrote,  but  he  wrote  for 
a  small  number,  and  not  for  the  nations.  Scarcely  three  men 
understood  him.  But  these,  that  is,  the  princes  of  the  church 
and  of  Christ,  have  written,  not  for  a  few,  but  for  all  men." 

Christ  appeared  on  earth  invested  with  sublime  and  holy 
doctrines,  which  he  labored  to  impart,  not  to  sects  and  secta- 
ries, but  to  universal  man.  He  taught  with  a  completeness  of 
wisdom  and  love  that  contemplated  all  those^  laws  which  reg- 
ulate our  sublunary  career,  often  so  stormy,  but  over  which 
never  ceases  to  gleam  the  rainbow  of  hope.  He  had  a  vivid 
personal  experience  of  all  the  delicate  sensibilities  that  melt 
and  trickle  around  the  heartstrings  of  the  obscurest  bosom,  as 
streams  of  pearl  flow  darkly  beneath  the  mighty  mountains ; 
26* 


306  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

and  this  same  great  patron  of  trembling  merit,  who  remotely 
read  the  better  desires  of  Nathaniel  when  under  the  fig-tree, 
says  to  each  obscure  youth  panting  to  arise  and  shine,  — 

"  I  saw  thy  secret  longings  —  unsaid  thoughts, 
Which  prey  upon  the  breast  like  night-fires  on 
A  heath." 

The  redeemer  who  goes  forth  to  bless  this  world,  must  be 
a  prophet  to  arouse  and  encourage,  rather  than  a  philosopher  to 
dogmatize  and  confound ;  one  speaking  to  our  spiritual,  intui- 
tions more  acutely  than  to  our  mental  speculations  —  aiming 
at  the  diffusion  of  universal  light,  as  the  means  of  securing 
individual  rights  and  promoting  perpetual  progression.  Thus 
Jesus  came  —  divinity  veiled  under,  the  luminous  shadow  of 
immaculate  humanity,  which  combination  garnered  within 
itself  the  suggestive  and  stimulative  power  of  all  the  genius  in 
the  universe,  to  kindle  and  feed  the  purest  flames  in  the  most 
secluded  bosoms.  His  interest  in  the  beneficiaries  whom  it  is 
his  highest  joy  to  solace,  is  not  fitful  and  brief,  but  rooted  in 
the  eternal  substance  of  his  glorified  being,  and  always 
prompted,  by  the  sublime  faithfulness  of  Godhead,  to  elevate 
and  ennoble  the  profoundest  emotions  that  ever  struggle  in  the 
otherwise  disconsolate  heart  of  man.  Christ  can  sympathize 
with  those  whose  backs  are  lacerated  with  the  injustice,  and 
whose  eyes  are  dimmed  with  the  tears  extorted  by  those  who, 
instead  of  gazing  on  benighted  and  abused  humanity  with  com- 
passion, rend  it  in  pieces,  and  throw  away  the  palpitating  flesh, 
in  order  to  fit  the  reeking  bones  into  an  arbitrary  system,  to 
which,  for  yet  longer  cycles  of  agonized  years,  they  would  con- 
demn, the  great  multitudes  of  toiling  men.  These  are  the  un- 
fortunate offspring  of  obscure  destiny,  who  plod  on  their  weary 
way,  as  stars  wear  through  the  night,  fair  in  their  nature,  though 
remote  from  brighter  spheres,  and  scarcely  seen  by  the  com- 
mon eye.  But  He  who  at  evening  was  admitted  to  no  hospi- 
table home  in  the  metropolis  wherein  all  day  he  had  toiled, 
and  walked  wearily  to  Bethany  to  repose  on  a  rustic  couch, 


CHRISTIANITY    THE    SOLACE    OF    THE    OBSCURE.  307 

regards  all  who  labor  unrequitedly  with  heart,  hand,  and  brain, 
for  the  public  good ;  else  would  their  prospects  be  blank  in- 
deed, as  the  blue  skies  when  the  sun  is  gone.  He  is  forever  the 
solace  of  the  injured  and  obscure,  lingering  yet  on  earth  by 
the  energies  of  his  spirit,  to  make  every  aspiring  child  first  a 
hero,  then  a  sage,  then  a  saint,  partaking  of  the  divine  nature, 
and  breathing  holy  and  elevating  influences  all  around.  As 
the  good,  the  true,  and  the  lovely,  are  an  harmonious  unity  in 
God,  and  an  harmonious  unity  in  the  universe,  so  would  Christ 
make  them  an  harmonious  unity  in  every  son  of  man.  Since 
man  is  a  perfectible  being,  he  is,  from  every  low  gradation  of 
existence,  to  be  urged  upward,  by  the  radiance  of  perfect  right- 
eousness, from  one  height  of  excellence  to  another,  till  he  shall 
be  filled  with  all  the  fulness  of  Go<t.  Every  human  creature 
that  struggles  into  existence,  even  in  the  lowest  vale  of  life,  is 
to  be  looked  upon  as  the  child  of  the  Infinite  and  the  Divine, 
gifted  with  latent  energies,  that  may  be  taught  to  swell  with 
unbounded  progress,  and  yearn  into  the  deep  bosom  of  im- 
mensity. Who  can  be  indifferent  to  the  condition  and  destiny 
of  the  obscurest  among  such  creatures  ?  Who  would  not  eman- 
cipate them  from  every  bond,  awaken  them  from  every  lifeless 
formula,  and  cheer  them  gladly  on  the  way  to  bliss?  And,  to 
this  end,  who  would  not  pray, — 

"  Let  them  not 
Be  forced  to  grind  the  bones  out  of  their  arms 
For  bread,  but  have  some  space  to  think  and  feel, 
Like  moral  and  immortal  creatures"  ? 

Too  many  religionists  are  mere  compounds  of  intolerance 
and  indifference.  Where,  as  it  respects  their  fellow-creatures, 
they  should  be  most  strenuously  active,  full  of  discriminating 
zeal,  dispensing  generous  blessings,  there  it  is  precisely  that 
the  eye  is  blind,  the  ear  deaf,  the  hand  shut,  and  the  heart 
cold.  Christianity  teaches  them  to  rise  above  sectarian  consid- 
erations, and  do  good  to  all  men  for  their  own  and  the  blessed 
Redeemer's  sake.     This  they  are  too  mercenary  or  too  indo- 


308  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

lent  to  do ;  but  where  they  have  no  right  whatever  to  interfere, 
and  where  their  bigoted  meddling  can  produce  only  mischief 
and  misery,  there  it  is  they  most  pertinaciously  obtrude  them- 
selves, and  degrade  all  they  touch.  If  their  poor  forsaken 
brother  is  dying  in  the  next  street,  on  a  pallet  of  straw,  fam- 
ished, diseased,  and  almost  driven  by  sheer  neglect  to  despair, 
they  hasten  not  to  relieve  the  wants  of  his  body,  or  soothe  the 
pangs  of  his  soul,  but  leave  him  to  fight  out  the  fierce  last  fight 
with  the  grim  destroyer  as  best  he  can.  If  you  direct  their 
attention  to  the  ignorance,  crime,  and  misery  of  the  commu- 
nity, some  of  which  can  be  removed  by  social  action,  and 
much  more  by  private  benevolence,  and  ask  them  to  put  their 
hand  to  the  holy  work  of  diffusing  light,  purity,  and  happiness, 
they  shrug  their  shoulders,  and  reply,  that  they  have  enough  to 
do  to  mind  their  own  affairs,  and  it  is  a  shame  there  are 
so  many  wretched  creatures  in  the  world.  It  is  in  vain  that 
millions  pine  and  perish  on  every  hand.  It  is  in  vain  that  the 
captive  longs  for  deliverance,  that  the  heel  of  tyranny  is  on 
the  neck  of  the  feeble,  and  the  lash  resounds  on  the  back  of 
the  enslaved.  It  is  in  vain  that  abused  and  exasperated  out- 
casts darkly  grope  for  instruction  and  compassion,  till,  goaded 
to  madness  by  starvation,  they  violate  laws  the  moral  propriety 
of  which  they  have  never  learned,  and  are  hurried  by  judicial 
martyrdom  to  the  consummation  of  inhuman  abuse.  As  they 
have  lived  uncared  for  by  the  large  majority  of  those  classes  to 
whom  fortune  has  been  more  merciful,  so  they  die  the  objects 
of  their  profoundest  contempt. 

Some  of  the  Roman  emperors  hung  their  laws  so  high  on 
brazen  pillars  that  the  people  could  not  read  them,  and  then 
punished  those  as  offenders  who  knew  not  a  description  of  their 
offence.  But  no  exalted  philanthropists  of  our  day  of  aug- 
mented light,  and  in  this  country  of  freer  institutions,  would  do 
this,  except  such  as  either  contentedly  hold  or  would  create 
slaves.  If  one  who  is  a  tyrant  at  heart  does  not  find  men 
already  brutish  enough  for  his  brutal  purposes,  he  will  strive 
most  successfully  to  complete  the  degradation  of  his  victims 


CHRISTIANITY   THE    SOLACE    OF    THE    OBSCURE.  309 

by  excluding  divine  light  from  their  minds.  Christ's  com- 
mand to  "  teach  all  nations,"  he  practically  nullifies  ;  and  since 
all  who  are  saved  are  rescued  by  lessons,  and  not  miracles,  he 
forecloses  the  redemption  of  the  poor,  and  with  fiendish  tri- 
umph seals  their  eternal  doom. 

In  the  obscurest  walks  of  life  may  be  found  many  a  youth 
richly  endowed  with  latent  germs  of  greatness,  who  contin- 
ually exclaim  to  themselves,  in  shrinking  sadness,  "  O,  I  feel 
like  a  seed  in  the  cold  earth,  quickening  at  heart,  and  pining 
for  the  air!  "  To  whom  can  such  look  for  appreciating  sym- 
pathy and  appropriate  aid  but  to  those  who  really  possess  and 
practically  exemplify  the  spirit  of  Christ  ? 

"  The  wild  flowers'  tendril,  proof  of  feebleness, 
Proves  strength  ;  and  so  we  fling  our  feelings  out, 
The  tendrils  of  the  heart,  to  bear  us  up." 

And  none  comes  quicker  to  our  solace  and  support  than  He 
whose  heart  most  yearned  over  a  suffering  world,  and  was 
pierced  to  redeem  it  from  eternal  woe.  The  thought  of  ame- 
liorating the  condition  of  mankind  inspired  and  fortified  the 
great  Redeemer  in  planting  his  doctrines  on  earth  ;  and  his  only 
direction  to  his  disciples  is  to  love  all,  and  perpetually  to  ad- 
vance. The  institution  of  Christianity  is  designed  to  purify  our 
hearts  and  regulate  our  demeanor  by  the  love  of  God.  In  the 
practical  accounts  of  the  proceedings  of  the  last  day,  given  in 
the  Scriptures,  the  excellency  which  is  represented  as  being  a 
criterion  and  distinguishing  feature  of  the  disciple  of  Christ, 
and  which  He  will  acknowledge,  is  Christian  benevolence  — 
love  to  man  manifested  in  the  relief  of  the  poor.  The  apos- 
tle John  has  given  us  a  most  sublime  description  of  the  benefi- 
cence of  God,  when  he  says,  "  God  is  love."  Love  is  not  so 
much  an  attribute  of  his  nature  as  his  very  essence  —  the  spirit 
of  himself.  Christian  benevolence  is  the  imitation  of  Christ ; 
and  just  so  far  as  we  possess  his  spirit,  and  exemplify  his  char- 
acter, we  bear  the  image  of  God,  and  are  his  sons  indeed. 
But  few  can  enter  the  more  exalted  sanctuaries  of  earthly 


310  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

wisdom :  Christ,  to  meet  the  emergency,  has  richly  endowed 
the  highest  school  of  the  most  generous  instruction,  and  thrown 
open  its  portals  wide  as  the  world.  He  proffers  to  every  one 
of  the  most  benighted  and  destitute  among  the  children  of  men 
a  handful  of  eternal  truth,  and  bids  them  make  a  heartful  of 
it.  Christ  won  the  emancipation  of  our  race  from  the  worst 
bondage  by  the  sacrifice  of  himself,  and  has  transmitted  the 
privilege  and  duty  of  universal  education,  with  all  the  other 
inestimable  blessings  connected  with  the  patrimony  of  his 
blood.  His  lessons  are  most  abundant,  better  understood,  and 
best  enjoyed  by  the  most  needy  and  deserving  —  the  inheritors 
of  genius  obscured,  who  gather  truth  from  trials,  "  like  snow 
from  clouds,  the  most,  and  whitest,  from  the  darkest." 

The  true  Christian,  who  is  instructed  properly  with  respect 
to  the  nature  of  the  soul  and  its  fearful  destiny,  will  love  man 
as  man,  and  be  interested  in  him,  whatever  may  be  his  rank 
and  wherever  he  may  dwell.  The  bounds  of  family  complex- 
ion and  country  cannot  confine  him.  In  whatever  form  hu- 
man nature  puts  forth  its  energies,  he  delights  to  contemplate 
them,  and  feels  a  brother's  solicitude  to  promote  their  happiest 
growth.  Says  Channing,  "  Christianity  lays  the  foundation 
of  a  universal  love,  by  revealing  to  us  the  greatness  of  that 
nature  in  which  all  men  participate ;  by  inspiring  reverence 
for  the  human  soul,  be  that  soul  lodged  wherever  it  may ;  by 
teaching  us  that  all  the  outward  distinctions  of  birth,  rank, 
wealth,  honor,  which  human  pride  foolishly  swells  into  impor- 
tance, and  which  separate  different  classes  from  each  other,  as 
if  they  were  different  races,  are  not  worthy  to  be  named  in 
comparison  with  those  essential  faculties  and  affections  which 
the  poorest  and  most  unprosperous  derive  as  liberally  from 
God  as  those  who  disdain  them.  Christian  love  is  founded  on 
the  grandeur  of  man's  nature,  its  likeness  to  God,  its  immor- 
tality, its  powers  of  endless  progress,  —  on  the  end  for  which 
it  is  created,  of  living  forever,  diffusing  itself  inimitably,  and 
enjoying  God  and  the  universe  through  eternity.  He  who  has 
never  looked  through  man's  outward  condition,  through  the 


CHRISTIANITY   THE    SOLACE    OF   THE    OBSCURE.  311 

accidental  trappings  of  fortune  and  fashion,  to  the  naked  soul, 
and  there  seen  God's  image  commanding  reverence  and  a 
spiritual  grandeur  which  turns  to  littleness  all  that  is  most  glo- 
rious in  nature,  —  such  a  man  may  have  kindness,  for  of  this 
he  cannot  easily  divest  himself;  but  he  is  a  stranger  to  the  dis- 
tinctive love  of  Christianity,  and  knows  nothing  of  the  intense- 
ness  and  diffusiveness  with  which  the  heart  can  bind  itself  to 
the  human  race." 

It  is  matter  calling  for  deep  gratitude  on  the  part  of  all  who 
desire  the  best  welfare  of  mankind,  that  the  doctrine  of  broth- 
erhood, first  announced  and  exemplified  by  Christ,  is  coming 
more  and  more  to  occupy  and  illuminate  the  highest,  as  well  as 
the  lowest,  ranks  of  humanity.  In  the  beginning,  the  cross 
rose  above  all,  and  there  must  it  remain.  For,  if  the  principle 
of  fraternity  thence  emanating  is  either  forgotten  or  betrayed, 
all  hearts  are  injured  and  every  thing  luminous  in  religion  is 
obscured.  Thank  God,  imperishable  and  adored,  the  sign  for 
eighteen  centuries  has  saved  from  oblivion  the  thing  signified  ; 
and,  destined  still  to  raise  its  blood-stained  arms  aloft  until  the 
world  shall  cease,  the  cross  will  continue  to  rebuke  the  treach- 
ery of  tyrants,  and  cheer  all  the  abused. 

"  Star  unto  star  speaks  light,  and  world  to  world 
Repeats  the  password  of  the  universe 
To  God  —  the  name  of  Christ ;  the  one  great  word 
"Well  worth  all  languages  in  earth  or  heaven." 

The  Savior  of  the  world  never  sanctioned  that  narrow  big- 
otry which  would  confine  the  soul  in  some  one  particular 
department  of  moral  culture,  but  opened  many  mansions  of 
glory,  at  once  the  infinitely  varied  field  of  its  excursions  and 
reward.  Forgetting  the  things  that  are  behind,  and  reaching 
upward  to  the  things  that  are  before,  the  devotee  whom  the 
best  friend  has  rescued  from  the  deepest  gloom  is  eternally  to 
soar  with  wider  views  and  purer  joys,  verifying,  at  each  ad- 
vance, that  "  in  the  garden  of  his  Master  there  are  many  kinds 
of  flowers."  It  is  not  the  true  disciple  who  has  had  this 
experience,  and  tasted  these  delights,  but  spurious  Christians, 


312  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

who  would  monopolize  all  high  culture  among  a  few  luxurious 
favorites,  and  leave  the  great  masses  of  industrious  poor  to 
ignorance,  superstition,  and  loathsome  vice.  To  do  this,  is  to 
outstrip  the  heathen  in  obdurate  cruelty,  for  they  had  household 
gods  who  were  patrons  of  all  the  oppressed.  Coriolanus,  after 
having  laid  waste  the  country  of  the  Volscians,  felt  himself  free 
and  secure  by  the  hearth  of  Aufidius,  under  the  protection  of 
the  penates,  or  household  gods  of  his  enemy ;  while  here,  in 
this  Christian  and  republican  land,  unoffending  children  are 
born  slaves,  ignorance  is  plead  as  the  only  safety  of  tyrants, 
and  persecution  is  the  penalty  which  sympathizing  benevolence 
is  sure  to  meet.  O,  it  is  time  this  foul  blot  were  removed,  this 
most  bigoted  and  disgraceful  spirit  become  extinct.  Until  such 
improvement  transpires,  Christianity  will  continue  to  appear 
sadly  obscured,  like  the  sun  when  belts  of  clouds  hide  half  his 
burning  disk. 

The  needed  reform  will  shortly  come.  All  moral  truth,  as 
well  as  scientific,  is  learning  to  work  for  the  millions  rather 
than  for  aristocratic  cliques.  Assuming  numerous  forms,  both 
powerful  and  salutary,  free  thought  will  drive  oppressive  toil 
from  the  earth,  and  become  the  one  grand  laborer,  the  slave 
and  drudge  to  mitigate  the  weariness  of  universal  man.  Sci- 
ence, guided  by  religion  and  subordinated  to  the  highest  ends, 
will  create  means  of  existence  and  enjoyment  for  myriads 
more  than  now  breathe  the  air  of  true  liberty  ;  will  people  earth 
all  over  with  men,  instead  of  clods  in  the  field,  fops  in  the 
parlor,  or  machines  in  the  factory ;  men,  with  industrious 
leisure,  intelligent  feeling,  and  holy  hope,  who  will  recognize 
the  equality  under  which  we  are  made  to  exist,  and  the  heaven 
to  which  we  should  all  aspire. 

But,  before  this  auspicious  day  arrives,  it  will  be  necessary 
for  secular  and  religious  tyrants  to  remove  the  splendid  pinna- 
cles falsely  called  the  "pillars  of  the  church;"  hierarchies 
and  arrogant  aristocrats  must  take  down  the  golden  dome  of 
special  privilege,  which  has  already  become  too  ponderous, 
and  begins  to  totter  over  their  heads ;  they  must  take  down  the 


CHRISTIANITY    THE    SOLACE    OF    THE    OBSCURE.  313 

gorgeous  mass  of  hollow  ceremony  and  priestly  despotism 
which  never  belonged  to  the  Christian  order,  if  they  would  save 
any  portion  of  the  sacred  edifice,  which  such  deceptive  corrup- 
tions have  always  endangered  and  never  adorned,  or  an  unex- 
pected concussion  will  speedily  lay  the  hypocritical  time-servers 
and  their  desecrated  altars  together  in  ruins.  The  affluent,  the 
powerful,  and  the  proudly  great  by  the  accident  of  birth  or 
ignominious  adventure,  must  stand  aside,  that  the  honest  though 
obscure  peasant  may  come  forward, 

"  His  rights  to  scan, 
And  learn  to  venerate  himself  as  man." 

The  voluntary  association  of  a  truly  Christian  brotherhood, 
where  each  one  enters  and  retires  freely,  seeking  individual 
enjoyment  only  in  the  general  welfare,  according  to  the  simple 
conditions  determined  by  one  Lord,  one  faith,  and  one  baptism, 
is  the  most  efficacious  alleviation,  if  not  cure,  of  the  three 
grand  evils  of  this  world  —  penury,  bondage,  and  corruption. 
The  church,  from  the  morrow  of  Pentecost,  has  loudly  pro- 
claimed this  ;  she  founded  among  the  first  disciples  a  voluntary 
community  of  the  blessings  of  life ;  and  hypocrisy  was  struck 
dead,  when  it  first  attempted  to  corrupt  the  primitive  law  of 
benevolence.  Since  then,  for  eighteen  centuries,  Christianity 
has  not  failed  to  inculcate  a  tender  regard  for  the  happiness  of 
all,  and  especial  solicitude  for  the  most  obscure  and  needy. 
The  union  of  all  ranks  and  conditions,  for  the  purpose  of  mu- 
tual protection  and  sa notification,  has  ever  been  her  motto,  as 
the  world  has  taken  for  its  motto  to  divide  and  subjugate. 

The  only  force  Jesus  Christ  employs  to  propagate  equitable 
and  saving  doctrine  is  himself;  that  profound  force,  the  sure 
possession  of  an  immortal  essence,  which  he  brought  with  him 
from  eternity  to  diffuse  all  through  the  diversified  ranks  of 
mankind.  He  knew  that  the  truth  he  inculcated,  all  sim- 
ple as  it  was  in  form  and  substance,  was  the  way,  the  truth,  and 
the  life  ;  and  this  he  sowed  profusely  wherever  he  went,  as  the 
sower  scatters  wheat.  The  Christian  husbandman  has  no  need 
of  worldly  policy,  force,  recondite  science,  philosophical  mys- 
27 


314  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

tery,  or  cunning  skill ;  he  has  the  wheat  of  the  word,  earth 
and  heaven,  and  he  opens  wide  his  hand  to  sow  the  seed  of 
life.  While  human  policy  advances  with  her  train  and  disap- 
pears, force  antagonizes  with  force,  science  exhausts  science, 
the  philosophy  of  to-day  supersedes  the  philosophy  of  yester- 
day, and  subtle  craftiness  is  captured  in  her  own  net;  "the 
wheat  falls  from  the  hand  of  God  into  the  hand  of  man,  and 
from  the  hand  of  man  into  the  bosom  of  earth,  whence  the 
germs  spring,  grow,  and  ripen  ;  humanity  gathers  the  precious 
harvest  with  joy,  partakes  with  rejoicing  appetite,  and  soon 
attains  strength  to  comprehend  the  most  invigorating  principles 
and  defend  the  highest  rights.  Thus  did  Jesus  Christ ;  and 
thus  proceeds  every  one  who  sincerely  holds  to  the  truth  as  it 
is  in  God.  He  first  comprehends  the  worth  of  truth  by  expe- 
riencing its  power  in  his  own  soul,  then  diffuses  it  as  widely  as 
possible,  and  the  world,  which  is  the  field,  at  length  blooms 
with  the  fragrance  and  fruitfulness  of  heaven. 

Christ  smote  the  popular  heart  with  the  concentrated  influ- 
ence of  infinite  attributes,  melted  it  into  penitence,  transformed 
it  into  adoring  love,  and  filled  it  with  expanding  joys.  He 
taught  the  multitudes  that  they  had  a  God  and  Father  in 
heaven  ;  and  thenceforth  humanity,  however  abased  and  sor- 
rowful, raised  its  joined  hands  to  the  skies,  and,  in  beseeching 
God  to  relieve  present  miseries,  felt  the  dignity  and  consolation 
which  thence  descend.  The  people  have  a  God,  not  only  in 
heaven,  but  nearer  to  themselves ;  a  God  who  was  made  mor- 
tal and  poor,  born  in  a  stable,  cradled  on  straw,  and  who  suf- 
fered more  in  all  his  life  than  any  man.  The  people  have  a 
God,  not  only  in  heaven,  not  only  in  kindred  flesh  and  poverty, 
but  there  is  a  God  upon  the  very  cross  the  great  masses  are 
compelled  to  bear,  a  living  and  triumphant  God,  to  teach, 
defend,  save,  and  console  them. 

Christianity,  in  its  primary  lessons,  inculcates  the  principle 
of  equality  among  men  in  the  presence  of  God,  which  princi- 
ple necessarily  generates  another,  which  is  but  the  development 
or  application  of  this,  namely,  the  equality  of  men   among 


CHRISTIANITY   THE    SOLACE    OF   THE    OBSCURE.  315 

themselves,  or  social  equality ;  for,  if  there  exists,  under  this 
relation,  an  inequality  essential  and  radical  relative  to  justice, 
this  inequality  will  render  them  primarily  unequal  before  God. 
Religious  equality  tends,  then,  to  produce,  as  its  consequence 
and  ultimate  result,  political  and  civil  inequality.  Now,  civil 
equality  has  liberty  for  its  form,  for  it  excludes  originally  all 
power  of  man  over  man,  and  obliges  him  thenceforth  to  con- 
ceive temporal  society  under  the  idea  of  unconstrained  associa- 
tion, which  has  for  its  end  to  guaranty  the  rights  of  each  of  its 
members,  that  is  to  say  again,  his  freedom  and  native  inde- 
pendence. Thus  the  freest  and  most  salutary  culture  is 
secured  by  that  religion  which  Christ  came  to  establish,  and 
which  every  way  works  a  beneficial  influence  on  the  mind  and 
destiny  of  even  the  obscurest  of  mankind.  Says  Hieremias, 
"  In  youth,  in  health,  and  prosperity,  it  awakens  feelings  of 
gratitude  and  sublime  love,  and  purifies  at  the  same  time  that 
it  exalts ;  but  it  is  in  misfortune,  in  sickness,  in  age,  that  its 
effects  are  most  truly  and  beneficially  felt,  when  submission  in 
faith,  and  humble  trust  in  the  divine  will,  from  duties  become 
pleasures,  undecaying  sources  of  consolation  ;  then  it  creates 
powers  which  were  believed  to  be  extinct,  and  gives  a  fresh- 
ness to  the  mind  which  was  supposed  to  have  passed  away 
forever,  but  which  is  now  renovated  as  an  immortal  hope." 
These  mercies  Christ  bought  for  the  poor,  deserted,  and  discon- 
solate every  where.  Let  us  appreciate  the  blessings  conferred 
on  ourselves,  and  deprive  no  one,  not  the  weakest  and  most 
obscure,  of  the  slightest  mercy  designed  for  all.  Like  Christ, 
let  us  seek  with  tender  solicitude  to  pour  solace  upon  the 
obscurest  children  of  mankind  ;  and,  to  do  this  effectually, 

"  O,  pray  for  those  who  in  the  world's  dark  womb 
Are  bound,  who  know  not  yet  their  Father,  God." 


CHAPTER    II. 

CHRISTIANITY    THE    PATRON    OF    THE 
ASPIRING. 

The  following  positions  mark  the  outline  of  the  present 
discussion.  Christianity  was  proudly  contemned,  when  most 
pure ;  is  adapted  to  encourage  the  deserving,  when  most 
depressed  ;  and  patronize  all  aspirations  that  are  both  free 
and  grand. 

In  the  first  place,  Christianity,  in  the  immaculate  purity  of 
its  unoffending  youth,  was  treated  by  worldly  greatness  with 
chilling  indifference  and  overbearing  contempt.  It  was 
almost  impossible  for  the  'insolent  cliques  of  the  day  to  sup- 
pose that  any  good  thing  could  come  out  of  Nazareth  —  a 
country  town  —  a  rural  hamlet,  away  from  the  pollutions  of 
their  own  bigoted  and  degraded  metropolis.  They  were  too 
dull  to  perceive,  or  too  supercilious  to  confess,  that  in  all  ages 
of  the  world  not  one  strong  intellect,  brilliant  genius,  generous 
redeemer,  in  a  hundred,  is  ever  born  in  a  great  city,  garnished 
with  ostentatious  wealth  and  enervated  with  effeminate  ease. 
Pride  and  intolerance  were  the  mighty  passions  Christ  first 
encountered,  and  towards  which  he  ever  remained  the  most 
unyielding  foe.  He  gave  no  quarter  to  the  mental  oppression 
of  the  Scribes  and  Pharisees,  and  looked  down  with  pity  upon 
the  great  buildings,  the  palaces  of  affluence  and  power,  amidst 
which  deserving  merit  wanders  unnoticed,  and  innocent  genius 
too  often  goes  weeping  and  bleeding  from  the  humblest  cradle 
to  the  most  ignominious  death. 

All  true  greatness  is  invariably  born  in  the  sphere  of  in- 
dustrious seclusion,  and  is  there  nourished  from  the  beginning 
with  that  chastity  of  heart  which  loves  God  supremely.     It 


CHRISTIANITY   THE    PATRON    OF   THE   ASPIRING.  317 

scarcely  ceases  to  draw  the  elements  of  loveliness  and  strength 
from  the  purest  source  in  the  calm  gladness  of  domestic  joy, 
than  it  turns  to  ruder  and  bolder  scenes,  where  it  pants  "  for 
fresher  growth  and  for  intenser  day."  But  what  encourage- 
ment does  the  young  heart  meet?  Who  hails  with  discrimi- 
nating eye  and  cheering  tones  the  advent  of  a  new  hero,  the 
dim  but  auspicious  auroras  of  a  bright  and  beneficent  mind  ? 
Shepherds  with  their  lowly  flocks,  or,  perchance,  a  few  wise 
men,  bring  offerings  that  attest  their  appreciation  of  the  new- 
comer, and  foster  his  worth ;  but  the  majority  who  bask  in 
the  profuse  bounties  of  Providence,  and  too  often  pervert  the 
blessings  they  have  received,  are  busy  in  suffocating  the  best 
energies  of  their  own  offspring  with  costly  luxuries,  while  they 
leave  true  worth  to  groan  in  unmitigated  want,  saturated  with 
the  cold  dew  of  darkness,  and  bound  in  the  chains  of  unde- 
served contempt. 

These  are  the  baleful  influences  which  at  every  age  are 
most  suicidal  to  meditation,  the  sister  and  mother  of  genius. 
They  are  most  fatal  when  brought  to  bear  on  youth,  as  the 
frost  is  most  destructive  in  spring.  Nothing  is  more  sacred 
than  the  first  reveries  of  a  young  soul,  and  nothing  should  be 
more  kindly  treated,  since  their  issues  are  unbounded  and 
eternal.  A  dreaming  infant  is  the  prelude  to  a  thinking  man, 
in  whom  love  may  become  the  mightiest  inspiration,  and 
thought  all  but  omnipotence.  Profound  and  aspiring  medita- 
tion gave  Milton  heaven,  Dante  hell,  Michael  Angelo  the 
Sistine  Chapel,  Columbus  a  new  hemisphere,  Herschel  un- 
numbered worlds,  Paul  visions  of  unclouded,  unmeasured, 
and  eternal  glory.  Thoughts  that  may  become  the  architects 
of  noblest  grandeur,  limners  of  greatest  beauty,  moulders  of 
sublimest  worth,  usually  originate  under  the  most  rustic  cos- 
tume ;  as  to  the  unreflecting,  an  apparently  loathsome  worm 
prepares  for  its  perfection  while  it  creeps  in  the  dust,  and 
at  length  bursts  from  its  silken  tomb  with  newly  developed 
form,  nature,  and  aspirations.  Like  a  "  winged  flower,"  with 
brilliant  and  delicate  pinions,  and  decked  with  the  richest 
27* 


318  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

gems,  it  gladly  soars  with  the  light,  and  sips  nectar  from  the 
hand  of  God.  In  this  image  of  the  butterfly,  first  sluggish  in 
the  grub,  then  dormant  in  the  chrysalis,  and  finally  vitalized 
with  a  free  and  happy  existence,  amidst  loveliest  flowers  or  in 
loftiest  light,  the  ancients  saw  a  striking  illustration  of  mental 
progress  and  immortality.  What  they  felt  in  their  conscience, 
they  imbodied  in  the  consummate  excellence  of  plastic  art, 
and  gave  us  in  the  Apollo  of  Grecian  intellect  when  he  gazed 
in  triumph  on  the  smitten  Python.  "  We  seem  to  see  in  this 
statue  the  visible  idea  or  image  of  the  man  who  aspired  to  be 
a  god.  At  length  he  stands  triumphant  over  the  temptation 
and  the  tempter,  content  in  the  consciousness  of  a  renovated 
and  perfect  humanity.  Passion  and  intellect  are  blended  in 
calm  unison ;  knowledge  and  affection  are  at  peace  ;  the 
attributes  of  feeling,  thought,  and  action,  are  combined  in  one 
attitude,  expressive  of  the  delicate  might  of  a  living  spirit. 
The  mind  reigns  in  that  body.  The  incarnate  intelligence 
manifestly  controls  matter  by  his  will,  and  appears  as  if  con- 
scious of  being  always  resisted,  yet  never  vanquished  ;  but, 
inspired  by  the  apprehension  of  his  right,  as  vicegerent  of 
Almightiness,  he  subdues  resistance  and  surmounts  difficulties 
by  perseverance  in  the  use  of  strength,  that  continually  and 
spontaneously  increases  with  every  opposition  to  his  purpose. 
Such  is  man,  when  sustained  by  the  divinity  which  stirs  within 
him  ;  the  only  creature  on  which  the  Creator  has  shadowed 
divine  perfections,  and  therefore  he  is  to  be  honored  even  in 
his  ruin  ;  for  when  his  affections  and  faculties  are  restored,  as 
they  may  be,  to  divine  sympathy,  he  shall  again  stand  upright, 
the  conqueror  of  the  mighty  serpent." 

The  tyrants  of  this  world  are  always  ambitious  to  stifle  the 
tones  of  freedom,  that  silence  may  cover  their  own  wretched 
demerits ;  but  Christianity  strives  to  promote  the  utmost  culti- 
vation of  all  that  the  personal  worth  of  each,  however  obscure, 
may  be  revealed  and  rewarded.  Truth  presides  within  the 
holy  of  holies,  in  the  temple  of  knowledge  opened  by  heaven 
for  every  inhabitant  of  earth  ;  but  craft  and  bigotry  stand  in 


CHRISTIANITY   THE    PATRON    OF    THE   ASPIRING.  319 

the  dark  vestibule,  to  obstruct  the  approach  of  all  save  a 
favored  few,  who  are  their  own  servile  and  contemptible 
satellites.  They  brutally  repel  the  child  of  misfortune  from 
every  point  of  redeeming  confraternity,  and,  if  possible,  doom 
him  to  remain  forever  a  melancholy  monad,  a  contemned 
solitaire,  in  the  deserts  of  unsympathizing  and  rayless  despair. 
So  far  as  sublunary  counsel  and  support  are  concerned,  he 
has  but  to  sit  down,  and  exclaim,  "  O  world  !  how  from  thy 
every  quarter  blows  a  gale,  wintry,  cold,  and  bleak,  to  the 
heart  that  would  expand  !  " 

All  youth  are  dead  for  the  present  life  who  do  not  hope  for 
the  future,  and  aspire  to  shine  in  beneficent  goodness  as  they 
soar  to  attain  eternal  rewards.  They  are  unworthy  of  being 
the  companions  of  the  exalted,  and  the  recipients  of  bliss 
without  alloy,  so  long  as  they  do  not  elevate  themselves  to  a 
level  with  the  objects  they  revere,  and  nourish  in  their  bosoms 
feelings  kindred  to  the  purest  truth  and  divinest  good.  These 
objects  of  the  highest  reverence,  and  this  fountain  of  the 
noblest  desires,  it  is  the  prerogative  of  Christianity  to  create 
in  the  mind  and  heart  of  the  most  ignoble  in  the  world's 
estimation,  invigorate  with  the  best  supplies  in  the  most  ex- 
hausting race,  and  crown  with  the  highest  honors  at  the  ultimate 
goal.  Therefore,  however  cold  and  constant  may  be  the  self- 
ishness of  earth  towards  the  youthful  aspirant  in  his  purest  and 
most  needy  days,  he  never  should  yield  to  despondency, 

"  While  the  voice 
Of  truth  and  virtue,  up  the  steep  ascent 
Of  nature,  calls  him  to  his  high  reward, 
Th'  applauding  smile  of  Heaven." 

Christ  combined  in  his  own  person  all  the  wrongs,  griefs, 
and  hopes,  of  humanity,  because  he  passed  through  all  the 
stages  of  human  progress,  and  especially  felt  the  bitterness  of 
penury  and  neglect  crippling  the  aspirations  of  his  youth. 
The  acorn,  bedded  in  the  loneliest  dell  of  the  forest,  may 
know,  perhaps,  that  it  is  an  oak  ;  but  it  was  with  keener  sen- 
sibilities, clearer  intuitions,  that  Christ,  in  the  unheeded  isola- 


320  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

tion  of  his  youth,  felt,  knew  that  he  was  God.  It  is  through 
that  bitter  experience,  transfigured  in  the  person  of  Divinity 
itself,  by  him  borne  from  earth  to  heaven,  and  thence  rained 
down  in  the  blended  showers  of  pity  and  power,  like  dew  and 
sunshine,  on  all  aspiring  youth,  that  he  would  create  in  them 
a  consciousness  of  the  highest  existence,  and  prompt  in  them 
a  readiness  and  competency  for  the  noblest  strife.  He  would 
have  us  know  that  a  soul,  though  cradled  in  penury  and 
nursed  with  wrongs,  is  not  a  fortuitous  fraction  of  mind  in 
the  world,  but  a  germinal  system,  in  itself  complete,  written 
all  over  with  indelible  thought,  every  line  and  word  and  dot 
being  a  sparkling  chapter  in  the  great  book  of  the  universe. 
Who  but  the  cruelly  base,  the  insufferably  despotic,  will  dare 
to  blacken  the  obscurest  page  of  such  a  work  ! 

God  is  love ;  consequently,  the  disposition  which  his  spirit 
and  word  inspire,  is  in  perfect  harmony  with  his  nature  ;  and 
it  is  easy  to  understand  that,  as  the  divine  intelligence  and 
mercy  must  be  expansive,  it  would  be  impossible  to  form  an 
idea  of  a  godly  man,  or  of  God,  keeping  all  his  knowledge 
and  kindness  to  himself.  Supreme  selfishness  is  contrary  to 
a  nature  gifted  with  pure  affections,  human  or  divine.  The 
search  after  and  discovery  of  truth  is  one  of  the  secrets  of 
exalted  happiness,  and  therefore  shall  we  always  find  that 
those  who  are  in  reality  the  wisest  and  best,  are  most  impelled 
to  communicate  their  knowledge  to  the  widest  ranks.  The 
man  of  God  and  friend  of  humanity  explores  most  assiduously 
even  in  the  deepest  gloom,  that  he  may  learn,  not  for  himself 
alone,  but  for  all  around  and  about  him  ;  he  acquires  and  im- 
parts with  an  equal  degree  of  pleasure,  provided  the  desires 
of  fellow-aspirants  are  aided,  and  the  hearts  of  all  made  glad. 
If  any  burn  to  be  great  and  useful,  be  assured  that  those  who 
have  themselves  felt  the  flame  in  early  and  neglected  youth, 
will  be  the  first  to  recognize  the  kindling  of  kindred  bosoms, 
and  will  blow  the  latent  embers  into  a  free  and  gladsome 
blaze. 

Christianity  teaches  all  her  pupils  to  say  to  despots  "  Hark ! 


CHRISTIANITY  THE   PATRON    OF   THE   ASPIRING.  321 

we  yearn  for  all  the  blessings  you  have  permitted  us  to  enjoy, 
but  we  yearn  for  liberty,  restrained  by  no  man,  more.  We 
want  education,  science,  art,  and  religious  institutions,  in  the 
highest  form,  —  we  want  whatever  may  make  us  good,  great, 
and  influential,  as  individuals ;  but  we  want  these  favors  not 
as  a  substitute  for,  but  as  a  consequence  of,  Liberty  the  most 
perfect  and  unlimited.  We  do  not  want  one  good  to  be  the 
compensation  for  another  good,  but  one  good  to  be  the  cause 
and  consequence  of  every  other,  all  derived  from  one  source 
and  conferred  on  all.  We  do  not  want  Knowledge  to  do  the 
work  that  Ignorance  has  hitherto  done  ;  nor  would  we  have  a 
few  favored  ones  monopolize  the  secrets  of  earth,  ocean,  and 
sky,  in  order  that  they  may  the  more  effectually  transform  the 
masses  into  hypocrites  or  slaves.  What  is  most  needed  in 
our  day  is  a  band  of  moral  heroes,  to  reconstruct  and  adorn 
the  whole  fabric  of  society ;  men  who  will  regard  the  past  as 
the  preparation  of  the  present,  the  guide  and  happy  presage 
of  the  future.  We  greatly  need  the  services  of  those  good 
soldiers  of  Jesus  Christ  who  bravely  fight  out  the  patriotic 
battles  of  the  only  true  republicanism,  taking  their  best  hints 
from  the  great  Captain  of  our  salvation,  who  with  pure  purpose 
struggled  for  the  greatest  good  of  the  greatest  number  when 
most  contemned,  from  obscure  youth  to  splendid  maturity 
toiled  and  bled,  that  the  most  neglected  and  abused  might  be 
cheered  by  the  example  of  his  life,  and  share  in  the  glory  of 
his  death." 

Christianity  plants  enthusiasm,  and  not  fanaticism,  in  the 
bosom  of  its  devotee.  There  is  an  important  difference  be- 
tween the  two.  The  fanatic  is  furious  to  disseminate  his  faith 
for  his  faith's  sake ;  the  enthusiastic  believer  seeks  to  diffuse 
his  faith  for  the  sake  of  the  benefits  it  is  calculated  to  confer. 
There  is  something  noble,  generous,  and  loving  in  enthusiasm, 
of  which  fanaticism  is  utterly  incompetent  either  to  conceive 
or  exemplify.  True  religion  imparts  to  the  mind  all  those 
ideas  that  are  fitted  most  potently  to  stir  the  heart  of  man,  and 
impel  his  intellect  to  the  most  substantial  and  useful  exercise. 


322  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

It  kindles  and  perpetually  feeds  that  wise  zeal  which  has  a 
grasp,  breadth,  and  elevation  of  which  mere  sectarian  selfish- 
ness is  destitute,  because  not  possessing  the  self-denying  hero- 
ism and  affection  of  which  true  greatness  is  always  formed. 
Christianity  is  not  a  blind,  headlong,  brutal  passion,  that  com- 
pels the  few  and  scorns  the  many,  but  a  mild,  genial  heat,  that 
enlightens  without  distinction  ;  a  light  that  warms  with  the  fond- 
est encouragement  all  it  can  reach.  It  is  such  a  union  of  light 
and  heat,  such  a  blending  of  thought  the  most  free  with  cour- 
age and  love  the  most  exalted,  as  most  irresistibly  triumphs, 
however  low  born  its  votary  and  however  mighty  its  obstacles 
may  be  ;  triumphs  not  simply  because  it  is  thought,  but  because 
it  is  courage  also  ;  because  it  is  comprehensive  and  ennobling 
love.  It  is  not  merely  that  indolent  good  nature  which  often 
steals  the  name  of  philanthropy,  but  the  supernatural  fire  that 
flashed  transforming  ideas  on  the  brain  of  Paul  as  he  journeyed 
to  Damascus,  and  poured  still  more  celestial  revelations  on  his 
heart,  rousing  divine  yearnings  that  bigotry  had  smothered,  and 
unsealing  that  fountain  of  charity,  toward  all  which  theologi- 
cal thorns  tend  so  much  to  choke,  and  which  partisan  bitter- 
ness is  sure  to  destroy.  It  is  this  spirit  that  evolves  in  the 
bosom  of  the  young  a  deep  longing  for  goodness,  beauty,  and 
truth  ;  a  passion  that  impels  through  all  time,  and  happily  fits 
its  possessor  for  eternity.  What  he  most  pants  to  possess,  he 
is  equally  ambitious  to  diffuse  ;  he  has  great  truths  to  utter  as 
well  as  good  deeds  to  perform,  the  utterance  and  the  doing  of 
which  tell  potently  and  blissfully  on  all  who  are  darkened  by 
ignorance,  crushed  by  tyranny,  or  polluted  by  sin.  Great 
revelations  are  enclosed  in  his  breast,  and  revolutions  both  great 
and  good  are  promoted  by  the  labors  of  his  hands,  because  his 
religion  is  not  a  lifeless  creed,  but  a  sympathizing  belief  subli- 
mated into  divine  action,  that  seeks  most  to  assist  those  who, 
innocently  toiling  in  the  deepest  gloom,  are  most  worthy  of 
beneficent  aid. 

In  the  second  place,  Christianity,  which  was  proudly  con- 
temned when  most  pure,  is  adapted  to  encourage  the  deserving 


CHRISTIANITY   THE    PATRON    OF    THE   ASPIRING.  323 

when  most  depressed.  The  great  and  truly  divine  idea  of  rad- 
ically curing  all  the  evil  with  which  humanity  is  afflicted,  of 
planting  institutions  which  should  be  equally  advantageous  to 
individuals  of  every  rank  and  communities  of  every  clime, 
thus  raising  up  for  the  Creator  a  better  generation  on  the  most 
beneficent  plan,  originated  entirely  with  Jesus  Christ.  No 
mind  before  his  ever  conceived  the  purpose  of  establishing  a 
kingdom  of  God,  ruled  only  by  truth,  morality,  and  mutual 
joy,  into  which  should  be  gathered  all  the  nations  of  the  earth. 
All  this,  too,  was  to  be  done  without  the  use  of  any  arbitrary 
force,  merely  by  the  gentle  influence  of  convincing  instruc- 
tion, ordinances  adapted  to  arouse  the  moral  sensibilities,  stim- 
ulate each  individual  to  reflect  upon  his  most  important  con- 
cerns, and  warm  his  heart  with  fervid  aspirations  after  the 
highest  good.  Christ  would  have  man  feel,  even  the  humblest 
of  our  race,  that  he  is  endowed  with  a  nature  far  exalted  above 
the  brutes,  a  soul  infinitely  superior  to  his  body,  and  that  he  is 
capable  of  knowledge,  goodness,  and  friendship  of  the  highest 
order — intercourse  the  most  delightful  with  Heaven.  The 
faintest  intellectual  nature  that  gleams  far  down  the  vale  of 
life  admits  of  endless  improvement,  and  he  cheerfully  bestows 
resources  that  will  promote  growth  far  beyond  mortal  existence 
and  the  decay  of  unnumbered  worlds.  Lifting  an  aspiring 
eye  to  the  loftiest  pinnacles  of  finite  attainment,  the  youth  who 
leans  on  Christ  and  follows  his  directions,  soars  rapturously  in 
eternal  approximation  to  the  infinite  excellence  he  was  made 
to  know.  Fostered  by  such  patronage,  in  view  of  such  attain- 
ments, the  obscurest  and  weakest  aspirant  bravely  exclaims,  — 

j  "  Rouse  thee,  heart ! 

"  Bow  of  my  life,  thou  yet  art  full  of  spring  ; 
My  quiver  still  hath  many  purposes." 

Christianity  is  the  quintessence  of  heroical  fortitude,  and 
therefore  is  it  best  adapted  to  encourage  the  deserving  when 
most  depressed.  Its  superiority  in  this  respect  was  strikingly 
indicated  by  the  magnanimous  grandeur  of  its  original  design. 


324  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

If  a  few  spirits  of  antiquity  seemed  to  be  benevolent  in  their 
schemes  for  popular  improvement,  there  were  none  who  ex- 
tended their  views  beyond  their  own  people,  and  comprehended 
the  advantage  of  foreign  nations  in  their  plan.  Such  projects 
bear  little  affinity  to  that  greatness  of  mind  and  heart  which 
includes  the  whole  human  family  in  its  grasp,  and  would  fill 
each  individual  with  all  the  fulness  of  God. 

Over  the  gates  of  Plato's  school  it  was  written,  "  Let  no 
one  who  is  not  a  geometrician  enter."  But  very  different  is 
the  inscription  which  invites  the  ignorant,  the  homeless  and 
unpatronized  of  earth  to  enter  the  school  of  Christ  and  be 
freely  taught  the  consummate  wisdom  of  heaven.  One  of  the 
most  absurd  laws  at  Athens  was  that  which  prohibited  the 
exercise  of  the  elegant  arts  to  any  but  freeborn  men.  It  would 
seem  that  selfish  pride  in  that  age,  as  in  our  own,  deemed  some 
men  unworthy  to  exercise  their  powers  of  mind,  as  if  the  Al- 
mighty God  had  pronounced  such  unworthy  of  his  gifts  !  On 
this  principle,  so  disgraceful  to  those  who  maintain  it,  what 
would  have  become  of  the  fables  of  iEsop,  or  the  plays  of 
Terence  ?  both  of  whom  were  slaves.  Many  there  are  amongst 
the  lowest  gradations  of  human  society  whose  most  cherished 
thoughts 

"  Will  rise  and  shake  their  breast,  as  madmen  shake 
The  stanchions  of  their  dungeons,  and  howl  out." 

Shall  these  be  imprisoned  and  stifled  still?  No!  says  Chris- 
tianity ;  let  every  pure  and  noble  feeling  of  the  soul  become 
"  free  of  wing  as  Eden's  garden  bird."  Socrates  was  said  to 
have  called  minds  into  existence ;  but  unfortunately  the  intelli- 
gence which  is  ushered  into  life  by  human  means  only,  is  at 
best  but  a  beautiful  slave.  Christianity  does  infinitely  more 
than  this;  it  sets  free  each  subject  mind,  and  develops  those 
sturdy  generations  of  men,  who  bear  abroad  the  seeds  of  lib- 
erty and  light  all  round  the  globe.  It  first  addressed  itself  to 
the  lowly,  *and  they  rallied  round  the  doctrines  so  happily 
adapted  to  invigorate  their  confidence  and  make  fruitful  their 


CHRISTIANITY   THE    PATRON    OF   THE    ASPIRING.  325 

souls  ;  so  that,  starting  from  the  point  where  all  true  redemp- 
tion originates,  divine  faith  gradually  ascended  from  the  lower 
to  the  upper  ranks,  and  filled  at  length  the  highest  functions 
of  imperial  beneficence.  The  career  and  conquests  of  truth 
are  ever  the  same.  Wherever  the  free  exercise  of  reason  is 
opposed,  or  the  happy  extension  of  the  arts  and  sciences  is 
stayed,  —  wherever  superstition  has  rendered  the  general  intel- 
lect indolent  and  fearful,  or  a  bigoted  and  intolerant  priesthood 
has  thrown  the  spirit  of  social  improvement  into  chains,  —  there 
is  it  her  province  to  appear,  and  emancipate  all  classes  from 
every  accursed  bond.  Under  her  influence  alone  can  human 
nature  obtain  the  full  and  unabridged  possession  of  those  rights 
of  which  it  has  so  long  been  deprived  —  rights  which  should  be 
immediately  and  universally  enjoyed. 

Says  Hugo  of  St.  Victor,  "  The  tree  of  wisdom  is  only 
strong  through  love  ;  it  only  becomes  green  through  hope,  which 
yields  the  joy  that  keeps  the  heart  warm  during  the  winter  of 
this  life."  The  aids  here  spoken  of  are  most  needed  in  the 
timid  beginning  of  our  upward  course,  when  the  young  facul- 
ties are  in  greatest  danger  of  being  depressed.  Frigid  cour- 
tesy and  yet  more  pointed  neglect  will  cower  the  best  powers 
sometimes,  and  becalm  their  bold  adventures  on  the  deep. 
Many  a  youth  lingers  in  the  shop  or  in  the  field,  filled  with  the 
most  auspicious  desires,  and  waiting  in  tearful  impatience  for 
some  one  to  encourage  their  development, 

"  Even  as  a  boat  lies  rocking  on  the  beach, 
"Waiting  the  one  white  wave  to  float  it  free." 

Christ  never  pictured  this  world  as  a  scene  of  incessant 
gloom  designed  for  any  human  being.  He  never  looked 
frowningly  on  the  sympathies  which  give  beauty  and  perma- 
nency to  the  relations  of  the  tenderest  friendships.  He  never 
trampled  on  the  joys  of  home,  nor  contemned  those  unspeak- 
able delights  which  tell  of  true  brotherhood,  as  impediments  to 
holiness.  He  never  stood  amidst  thronging  congregations, 
an  isolated  prophet  clad  with  omnipotent  strength,  but  spurning 
28 


326  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

affection,  and  repelling  the  approach  of  docile,  revering,  and 
ardent  discipleship  ;  if  he  had,  we  might  bow  in  admiration 
before  the  grandeur  of  his  power ;  but  where  would  be  an 
effective  appeal  to  our  sensibilities,  where  a  thrilling  contact 
with  the  gentlest  and  profoundest  yearnings  of  our  existence  ? 
No ;  Jesus  did  not  extinguish  human  impulses,  but  endowed 
them  with  a  keener  ardor  and  a  wider  gi'asp.  He  did  not  dis- 
robe youthful  hearts  of  fond  memories  and  fervid  aspirations, 
but  filled  them  with  a  precious  incense,  to  be  blended  with  the 
sacrifices  they  offer  on  the  altars  of  wisdom  and  benevolence. 
He  would  stimulate  the  early  devotee  to  imitate  himself  in 
giving  food  to  famished  thousands,  sight  to  the  blind,  speech  to 
the  dumb,  cleansing  to  the  leper,  vigor  to  the  paralytic,  reason 
to  the  insane,  and  ministration  to  infirmity  in  whatever  form  it 
may  appear. 

All  the  discourses  and  miracles  of  Christ  were  surprisingly 
beneficent  and  social,  while,  at  the  same  time,  they  were  as 
patriotic  as  they  were  humane.  He  pitied  individual  wants, 
and  relieved  them  ;  he  mourned  over  his  country,  because  its 
religion  had  become  a  hollow,  pharisaical  mechanism,  and  its 
freedom  lay  strangled  under  the  iron  heel  of  a  foreign  despot- 
ism. As  the  best  solace  under  these  evils,  and  the  means  of 
their  speediest  destruction,  Christ,  planted  those  pure  republican 
doctrines  on  earth  which  elevate  while  they  equalize,  and  pu- 
rify while  they  redeem.  He  was  evidently  most  anxious  to 
reach  the  whole  world  of  youth,  that  by  a  wise  direction  of 
their  powers,  judiciously  given,  he  might  train  up  a  free  and 
vigorous  race  in  revolt  against  every  wrong.  Hence  he  caused 
the  star  of  truth  that  gladdens  the  eternal  dwelling  which  God 
hath  prepared  for  his  children  to  shine  broadly,  clearly,  and  with 
inextinguishable  beams,  on  every  earthly  home.  He  was  a 
perfect  Redeemer,  as  well  as  a  perfect  Creator,  seeking  to 
render  the  feeblest  votary  perfect  as  himself,  by  stamping  upon 
him  the  image  of  his  perfection,  alike  as  a  speculative  idea 
and  a  practical  adaptation.  Christianity  breathes  into  the 
young  heart,  laid  open  to  its  influence,  a  spirit  of  love  and 


CHRISTIANITY   THE    PATRON    OF   THE   ASPIRING.  327 

power  that  expands  inimitably  to  the  illimitable  necessities  of 
man  ;  weeps  with  his  weepings,  and  rejoices  with  his  rejoi- 
cings ;  crowns  his  best  triumphs,  and  becomes  the  rainbow  of 
hope  amid  his  bitterest  depressions ;  cools  the  fever  of  inordi- 
nate excitement,  spiritualizes  his  worldliness,  consecrates  his 
endeavors,  and  immerses  him  in  the  threefold  baptism  which 
all  true  soldiers  of  Christ  require  —  the  baptism  of  enthusiasm, 
reason,  and  religion. 

Vague  yearnings  of  soul  fail  not  to  the  gifted  youth,  as  he 
grows  up  a  predestined  hero  :  dreaming  fancies,  like  gorgeous 
clouds,  hang  around  him,  as  the  curtains  of  existence  slowly 
rise,  in  commingled  splendor  and  gloom.  Bright  visions  greet 
him,  ever  and  anon,  like  star-formed  faces  peering  between 
sombre  clouds,  and  the  auroral  light  of  intense  love  gilds  the 
horizon  of  auspicious  day,  while  the  music  of  heavenly  song 
is  on  his  path.     And  so  he  walks,  —  as  was  said  of  Burns, — 

"In  glory  and  in  joy, 
Behind  his  plough,  upon  the  mountain  side  ! " 

But  "  the  world  knows  nothing  of  its  greatest  men."  It  has 
ever  shown  but  small  favor  to  the  most  deserving.  "  Hunger 
and  nakedness,  perils  and  reviling,  the  prison,  the  cross,  the 
poison-chalice,  have,  in  most  times  and  countries,  been  the  mar- 
ket price  it  has  offered  for  Wisdom,  the  welcome  with  which 
it  has  greeted  those  who  have  come  to  enlighten  and  purify  it. 
Homer  and  Socrates,  and  the  Christian  apostles,  belong  to  old 
days ;  but  the  world's  Marty rology  was  not  completed  with 
these.  Roger  Bacon  and  Galileo  languish  in  priestly  dungeons. 
Tasso  pines  in  the  cell  of  a  madhouse  ;  Camoens  dies  begging 
on  the  streets  of  Lisbon.  So  neglected,  so  "  persecuted  they 
the  prophets,"  not  in  Judea  only,  but  in  all  places  where  men 
have  been.  But  the  gold  that  is  refined  in  the  hottest  furnace 
comes  out  the  purest;  and,  as  Jean  Paul  said,  "  the  canary- 
bird  sings  sweeter  the  longer  it  has  been  trained  in  a  darkened 
cage." 

The  Scotch  peasant,  the  British  laborer,  and  American  slave, 


328  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

have  a  painful,  but  we  hope  not  long,  road  yet  to  travel  before 
they  arrive  at  what  the  soul  calls  liberty,  and  which  it  is  the 
highest  crime  to  impede  or  destroy.  Too  many  laws  and  cus- 
toms, now  in  full  force,  have  for  their  whole  tendency  to  pam- 
per the  pride  and  feed  the  luxuries  of  the  born-great,  while 
they  check  the  aspirations  and  depress  the  hopes  of  the  born- 
little  ;  and ,  as  this  state  of  things  is  in  direct  hostility  with  the 
spirit  of  Christianity,  we  cannot  believe  that  a  just  God  will 
permit  such  systems  long  to  endure.  The  spirit  of  heavenly 
freedom,  like  the  poetry  of  earth,  never  dies ;  its  light  is  grow- 
ing brighter,  and  its  spreadings  wider,  each  day ;  and  speedily 
shall  each  cottage  be  reached,  and  each  troubled  spirit  be  filled 
with  the  radiant  light,  the  invincible  power,  the  austere  charms, 
and  immortal  peace,  of  celestial  virtue.  In  the  obscurest 
walks  of  life,  as  in  the  most  prominent,  true  religion  will  then 
develop  its  legitimate  influence  and  worth,  acting  upon  every 
mind  as  Nature  when  she  forms  a  flower,  unfolding  the  whole 
system  of  the  plant  at  the  same  time,  and  breathing  life  and 
beauty  on  every  leaf.  Sectarian  creeds  and  partial  systems 
actuate  only  fragmentary  natures,  leaving  the  best  faculties  in 
worse  than  useless  repose,  like  palsied  limbs ;  while  to  Chris- 
tianity, as  a  whole,  in  its  primitive  purity  and  power,  belongs 
the  glorious  prerogative  of  eliciting  each  vital  principle  of  the 
soul,  giving  appropriate  exercise  to  every  function,  proportion 
to  every  part,  and  to  the  harmonious  whole  a  happy  reward ; 
thus  animating  its  subject  when  most  depressed,  maturing  all 
his  powers  with  the  most  salutary  discipline,  and  bringing  him, 
in  the  end,  to  the  exalted  condition  of  "a  perfect  man  in  Christ 
Jesus."  It  is  this  religion  which  opens  to  the  obscurest  devo- 
tee the  prospect  of  unbounded  progression  and  improvement ; 
inspirits  him  to  enter  on  a  career  of  emulation  with  angels  ;  to 
despair  of  nothing,  but  to  hope  for  every  thing  requisite  to 
promote  the  moral  advancement  of  the  world  ;  to  stop  at  no 
point  short  of  universal  liberty  and  perfect  holiness ;  to  toil  for 
these  results  without  ceasing,  and  to  invoke,  in  every  struggle, 
the  almighty  energies  of  God. 


CHRISTIANITY   THE    PATRON    OF    THE   ASPIRING.  329 

That  which  is  most  needed  amongst  the  youth  of  our  age  is 
the  culture  of  a  humanizing  spirit,  which  would  refine  the  feel- 
ings, call  forth  the  affections,  purify  and  expand  the  reflective 
faculties,  and  which,  ever  aiming  toward  true  catholicity  of 
sentiment,  of  perception,  and  aspiration,  would  evolve  the  good 
from  the  husk  of  error  and  sin,  would  transmute  antipathy  into 
affection,  and  evil  into  excellence,  would  teach  men  to  scan, 
not  so  much  the  transient  and  repulsive  in  each  other,  as  the 
unchangeable  and  praiseworthy,  which  is  the  glory  of  their  com- 
mon nature,  and  which  makes  them  one  with  their  Father  in 
heaven.  It  is  kindness  that  we  want,  and  not  coercion  ;  sub- 
stantial support,  and  not  hypocritical  homilies.  The  heart  must 
have  a  prop  without  as  well  as  within,  on  which  to  lean,  or  it 
will  fall  and  break.  O,  how  sad  and  crushing  it  is  to  the  young 
heart  thirsting  for  truth,  to  be  mocked  with  empty  traditions  and 
frigid  advice,  which  tell  nothing  to,  and  nothing  of,  the  mystery 
within  that  burns  for  utterance,  sympathy,  and  solution  !  arro- 
gant dogmatizers,  who  set  up  antiquated  mummies,  skeletons 
of  by-gone  barbarism,  as  their  idolatrous  standards,  and  teach 
youth  that  their  damnation  is  certain  to  result  if  they  do  not 
implicitly  adore.  But  the  greatest  and  best  messengers  from 
God  to  man,  who  reveal  God  to  man,  and  man  to  himself, — 
who  elucidate  the  universe,  as  a  divine  language  to  humanity, 
down  to  its  most  desponding  sons,  teaching  each  of  our  brethren 
to  address  his  Maker  in  the  fervor,  fulness,  and  sincerity  of  his 
heart,  without  foolish  formalities  inspired  by  craft  or  fear,  —  are 
not  trained  after  this  manner.  They  are  the  greatest,  wisest,  and 
best  teachers,  because  the  Bible  is  their  only  creed,  the  Spirit 
of  God  and  the  universe  their  only  inspiration,  and  Jesus 
Christ  their  only  master ;  therefore  are  they  the  most  truthful, 
instructive,  and  free.  The  predominant  feeling  of  their  bosom 
is  that  of  perfection,  aspirations  after  something  sublimer  and 
more  beautiful  than  our  gross  physical  perceptions  can  ever 
present.  Beyond  the  brightest,  they  would  soar  to  a  brighter ; 
beyond  the  grandest,  to  a  grander  ^beyond  the  best  that  we 
are  permitted  to  attain  beneath  the  skies,  to  a  better  more  glo- 
28* 


330 


REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY, 


riously  beaming  beyond.  All  external  glory  waxes  dim,  when 
compared  to  the  radiant  forms  that  burst  brightly  on  the  ima- 
gination of  such,  and  perpetually  purify,  while  they  inflame,  the 
heart. 

When  a  brave-hearted  and  noble-minded  youth  appears  on 
the  public  stage,  stained  not  by  the  prevalent  vices  of  the  age, 
and  yearning  with  earnest  desire  to  consecrate  his  faculties  to 
the  benefit  of  his  race,  his  country,  and  his  God,  the  probabil- 
ity of  distinguished  success  will  depend  mainly,  whether  con- 
ventional forms  have  a  firm  hold  upon  his  nature,  and  whether 
he  have  moral  force  enough  to  shatter  and  escape  from  the 
base  trammels  they  impose.  No  youth  ever  becomes  a  man 
fully  developed  in  head  and  heart,  till  he  feels  most  deeply  and 
constantly  that  the  universe  exists  as  much  for  every  other 
human  creature  as  for  himself,  and  that  every  such  fellow- 
mortal  exists  in  order  that  he  may  freely  receive  and  enjoy 
every  good  and  perfect  gift  that  the  Maker  of  the  universe  can 
confer.  Feeling  and  knowing  this,  the  exemplary  Christian 
will  be  most  studious  to  seek  out  and  encourage  the  most  timid 
and  needy,  knowing  that  in  this  consists  the  greatest  bliss  and 
best  reward. 

"  We  live  in  deeds,  not  years ;  in  thoughts,  not  breaths ; 
In  feelings,  not  in  figures  on  a  dial. 
We  should  count  time  by  heart-throbs.     He  most  lives 
Who  thinks  most,  feels  the  noblest,  acts  the  best." 

We*  have  said  that  Christianity  was  proudly  contemned  when 
most  pure,  and  is  adapted  to  encourage  the  deserving  when 
most  depressed.     We  remark, — 

Thirdly,  it  patronizes  all  aspirations  that  are  both  free  and 
grand.  He  whose  own  moral  powers  are  most  divinely  culti- 
vated is  always  the  most  kind  and  tolerant  towards  all  mankind. 
He  will  gladly  hail  the  fond  hopes  of  the  human  spirit,  its  most 
daring  enterprise,  the  bold  and  illimitable  navigation  into  the 
unknown  regions  of  truth^;  he  will  cheer  on  the  Argonauts  of 
humanity  who  boldly  put  to  sea  beyond  the  pillars  of  Hercules, 


CHRISTIANITY   THE    PATRON    OF    THE    ASPIRING.  331 

and  who  already  seem  to  discover  rising  before  them  the  Fortu- 
nate Islands  of  the  future.  Through  the  gathering  tempests  that 
lower  on  the  present  view,  they  behold  a  better  era  dawning, 
which  shall  bring  a  perfect  regeneration  of  popular  ideas,  a 
full  development  of  Christian  civilization,  and  the  universal 
establishment  of  truth  republican  and  omnipotent.  These  are 
the  brave  and  beneficent  citizens  of  the  time  to  come,  who 
prove  the  solidity  of  their  faith  and  the  sincerity  of  their  zeal 
by  most  industriously  toiling  to  promote  present  good.  It  is 
thus : 

"They  prove  unto  themselves  that  nought  but  God 
Can  satisfy  the  soul  he  maketh  great." 

Moral  perfection,  by  its  vital  energy  and  symmetrical  pro- 
portions, always  kindles  the  most  fervid  desires  in  the  heart, 
and  makes  the  most  beautiful  as  well  as  sublime  impressions 
on  the  mind.  Introduced  to  the  soul  through  a  pure  medium, 
it  produces,  in  the  greatest  degree  and  most  salutary  mode,  an 
elevating,  liberating,  and  purifying  effect.  It  elicits  and  forti- 
fies in  the  popular  heart  that  nobler  sense  latent  in  all  which  is 
adapted  to  the  perception  of  divine  things ;  and  does  this,  not 
by  a  formal,  didactic  process,  but  by  fostering  a  spontaneous 
worship  of  the  beautiful  and  good,  through  that  life-giving, 
inspiring  influence  which  invariably  attends  the  labors  of  him 
who  exercises  all  his  better  faculties  for  the  best  interest  of  all 
his  fellow-men.  He  bends  his  ear  with  fraternal  solicitude  to 
hear  the  melody  of  free  spirits  every  where  overflowing  with 
'  irrepressible  joys,  like  birds  "  singing  of  summer  in  full-throated 
ease."  These  are  the  workmen  for  building  up  eternal  things. 
They  are  of  divine  origin,  serve  a  divine  law,  fulfil  a  divine 
mission,  and  lead  to  divinely-ordained  results.  Their  piety  is 
a  living  and  loving  essence,  which  assuredly  stands  higher  than 
mere  ceremonial  worship.  It  is  that  adoration  of  God  as  the 
merciful  Father  of  a  common  race,  the  Christian  faith,  which 
makes  Jesus  its  own,  in  a  fuller,  deeper,  more  consolatory 
sense,  as  the  Son  of  God,  the  Redeemer  of  the  world,  the 
Intercessor  on  behalf  of  the  most  wretched  and  obscure,  than 


332  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

those  hollow  and  unfeeling  rites  which,  in  fact,  only  assign  to 
him  a  selfish  existence  on  earth,  and  an  arbitrary  control  over 
the  mercies  of  heaven. 

The  truth  as  it  is  in  Christ  is  "  the  power  of  God  unto  salva- 
tion." But,  says  Channing,  "  let  none  imagine  that  its  chosen 
temple  is  an  uncultivated  mind,  and  that  it  selects,  as  its  chief 
organs,  the  lips  of  the  unlearned.  Religious  and  moral  truth 
is  indeed  appointed  to  carry  forward  mankind ;  but  not  as  con- 
ceived and  expounded  by  narrow  minds,  not  as  darkened  by 
the  ignorant,  not  as  debased  by  the  superstitious,  not  as  subtil- 
ized by  the  visionary,  not  as  thundered  out  by  the  intolerant 
fanatic,  not  as  turned  into  a  drivelling  cant  by  the  hypocrite. 
Like  all  other  truths,  it  requires  for  its  full  reception  and  pow- 
erful communication  a  free  and  vigorous  intellect.  Indeed,  its 
grandeur  and  infinite  connections  demand  a  more  earnest  and 
various  use  of  our  faculties  than  any  other  subject.  As  a  single 
illustration  of  this  remark,  we  may  observe,  that  all  moral  and 
religious  truth  may  be  reduced  to  one  great  and  central  thought 
—  perfection  of  mind  ;  a  thought  which  comprehends  all  that 
is  glorious  in  the  divine  nature,  and  which  reveals  to  us  the  end 
and  happiness  of  our  own  existence.  This  perfection  has  as 
yet  only  dawned  on  the  most  gifted  human  beings ;  and  the 
great  purpose  of  our  present  and  future  existence  is,  to  enlarge 
our  conceptions  of  it  without  end,  and  to  imbody  and  make 
them  manifest  in  character  and  life.  And  is  this  sublime 
thought  to  grow  within  us,  to  refine  itself  from  error  and  im- 
pure mixture,  to  receive  perpetual  accessions  of  brightness  from 
the  study  of  God,  man,  and  nature,  and  especially  to  be  com- 
municated powerfully  to  others,  without  the  vigorous  exertion 
of  our  intellectual  nature  ?  Religion  has  been  wronged  by 
nothing  more  than  by  being  separated  from  intellect,  than  by 
being  removed  from  the  province  of  reason  and  free  research, 
into  that  of  mystery  and  authority,  of  impulse  and  feeling. 
Hence  it  is,  that  the  prevalent  forms  or  exhibitions  of  Chris- 
tianity are  comparatively  inert,  and  that  most  which  is  written 
on  the  subject  is  of  little  or  no  worth.     Christianity  was  given, 


CHRISTIANITY   THE    I>ATRON    OF    THE   ASPIRING.  333 

not  to  contradict  and  degrade  the  rational  nature,  but  to  call  it 
forth,  to  enlarge  its  range  and  its  powers.  It  admits  of  endless 
development.  It  is  the  last  truth  which  should  remain  station- 
ary. It  ought  to  be  so  explored  and  so  expressed,  as  to  take 
the  highest  place  in  a  nation's  literature,  as  to  exalt  and  purify- 
all  other  literature." 

Christianity  is  worthy  of  supreme  regard,  because  it  is  a 
redeeming  power  of  the  highest  order.  But  side  by  side  with 
the  idea  of  redemption  stands  another  idea,  of  at  least  equal 
importance  —  that  of  reconciliation.  Redemption  is  something 
essentially  internal ;  it  is  liberation  from  the  yoke  of  sin,  res- 
toration of  the  harmony  between  the  material  and  the  spiritual 
life  ;  while  reconciliation  implies  an  external  relation,  which 
restores  the  appropriate  connection  between  the  sinner  and  a 
holy  God.  To  experience  the  practical  power  of  these  is  to 
possess  Christianity  in  its  essence,  which  communicates  a 
higher,  more  perfect  knowledge  of  God,  as  love,  as  the  merci- 
ful Father  who  sent  the  Redeemer  to  save  the  world,  and  has 
vouchsafed  his  Spirit  to  reveal  to  all  men  his  own  nature  and 
perfections.  As  only  in  acts  can  the  living  God  be  fully 
revealed,  and  in  their  saving  power  his  spirit  be  manifested,  so 
it  is  only  in  action,  wise  and  benevolent,  that  our  own  virtues 
can  be  developed,  and,  by  their  influence,  the  world  be  blessed. 
All  the  will  of  Jehovah  in  relation  to  man  was  clearly  and 
fully  represented  in  the  life  of  Christ,  full  of  grace  and  truth ; 
and  it  is  precisely  in  the  same  way  that  all  the  mercies  we 
receive  are  to  be  lived  out  benevolently  for  the  good  of  all  our 
fellow-men. 

Christianity  teaches  not  only  the  human  nature  of  man,  but 
also  his  divine  origin  and  deathless  capacities.  It  does  this  by 
causing  the  souls  in  which  it  dwells  to  aspire  towards  God,  as 
bright  flames,  at  night,  stream  upward  to  the  stars.  The  hum- 
ble votary  longs  not  only  for  something  higher  than  can  be 
found  on  earth,  but  even  for  the  unconditional,  the  primal 
fount  of  life  and  being.  His  insatiable  spirit  requires  not 
merely  something  more  perfect  and  more  pure,  but  finds  entire 


334  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

satisfaction  only  in  the  absolutely  perfect  and  pure,  the  adora- 
ble One,  the  essential  Ideal  of  truth,  love,  and  holiness.  It  is 
this  that  generates  the  immortal  impulse  from  within  which 
makes  the  gladsome  soul  cry,  on,  ahvay,  on'! 

The  ambition  which  Christianity  creates  it  gloriously  sustains 
and  usefully  employs.  It  transforms  the  obscure  youth,  often, 
into  the  eagle  which  you  see  piercing  the  storm  and  braving 
the  sun ;  an  eagle  in  every  fibre  of  his  body,  in  every  look  of 
his  eye,  in  relation  to  the  earth  he  has  left,  the  air  he  winnows 
with  sovereign  wing,  the  lightnings  on  which  he  gazes 
unblenched,  and  the  heavens  to  which  he  darts  unwearied 
and  unalarmed.  It  is  said  that  the  Danes  used  to  make  their 
horses  deaf,  lest  they  should  be  frightened  at  the  war-songs 
sung  by  their  foes  on  the  field  of  battle  ;  but  no  such  precau- 
tion is  requisite  for  the  better  success  of  those  who  contend 
under  the  banners  of  our  holy  religion.  Each  young  volunteer 
struggles  valiantly  from  the  cradle  to  the  tomb,  that  he  may  be 
useful  to  virtue,  serviceable  to  merit  in  distress,  and  ascend 
from  the  field  of  complete  conquest,  to  enjoy  in  heaven,  with 
the  great  Deliverer  himself,  the  sense  of  consoling,  generous, 
liberating  ideas,  left  by  him  on  earth. 

Men  of  the  most  refined  sensibilities  have  usually  the  most 
ethereal  intellects ;  and  they  are  always  the  most  radical 
reformers,  because  it  is  the  best  and  strongest  part  of  their 
nature  to  love  freedom.  They  have  more  hope,  more  enthu- 
siasm for  justice,  more  impatience  under  oppression,  more 
acuteness  of  perception,  more  readiness  to  act,  than  common 
men,  and  less  inclination  to  despair.  The  heart  of  a  true  hero, 
confiding  in  a  righteous  Providence,  and  wholly  consecrated  to 
the  advocacy  of  universal  rights,  like  the  sea-fowl  that  rests 
upon  the  bosom  of  the  tempestuous  deep,  seems  to  float  upon 
the  foaming  billows  with  as  much  composure  as  if  it  ruled 
them.  Such  men  prefer  death  to  desertion  of  duty.  They 
encounter  the  menaces  of  power,  endure  the  gloom  of  prisons, 
and,  if  need  be,  ascend  the  scaffold  or  embrace  the  rack  with 
a  step  that  never  falters,  lips  that  never  are  recreant,  and  looks 


CHRISTIANITY   THE    PATRON    OF    THE   ASPIRING.  335 

that  never  change.  They  love  God  and  injured  humanity  with 
all  the  nobleness  of  their  sympathetic  nature,  and  they  are 
ready  to  encounter  death  in  the  most  dreadful  forms,  if  from 
their  tears  and  blood  a  higher  life  may  spring  to  bless  the 
masses  that  survive.  The  feeling  of  progress  is  the  greatest 
spring  of  personal  delight,  and  the  prospect  of  promoting  this 
amongst  the  people  at  large  imparts  cheerfulness  and  courage 
to  the  heroical  under  the  severest  lot.  .With  prostrate  soul 
and  kneeling  heart  they  undertake  any  task  required  by  duty, 
and  submit  to  any  fate,  resolved  on  resisting  every  form  of 
injustice  on  earth,  contented  with  nothing  less  than  universal 
rights  and  approving  Heaven. 

It  has  been  said  that  "  no  man  can  be  just  to  himself,  can 
comprehend  his  own  existence,  can  put  forth  all  his  powers 
with  an  heroic  confidence,  can  deserve  to  be  the  guide  and 
inspirer  of  other  minds,  till  he  has  risen  to  communion  with 
the  Supreme  Mind  ;  till  he  feels  his  filial  connection  with  the 
Universal  Parent ;  till  he  regards  himself  as  the  recipient  and 
minister  of  the  Infinite  Spirit;  till  he  feels  his  consecration  to 
the  ends  which  religion  unfolds ;  till  he  rises  above  human 
opinion,  and  is  moved  by  a  higher  impulse  than  fame."  To 
bestow  this  is  the  prerogative  and  essence  of  Christianity,  which 
recognizes  and  teaches  us  to  reverence  in  God  the  attributes 
of  impartial  justice  and  universal  love,  and  to  hear  him  com- 
manding us  through  the  spirit  of  his  word  and  the  monitions  of 
our  conscience,  to  become  what  we  adore. 

Wantonly  to  depress,  rather  than  patronize,  free  and  grand 
aspirations  in  a  rational,  moral  being,  is  to  inflict  on  him  the 
greatest  wrong.  We  never  acquit  ourselves  of  the  highest 
duty  we  owe  every  human  being,  till  we  have  exerted  our- 
selves to  the  utmost  in  planting  within  him  the  seeds  of  wisdom, 
disinterestedness,  the  firmest  fortitude  and  most  beneficent 
piety.  We  are  to  address  all  with  the  timely  aid  and  soothing 
tones  which  reveal  to  the  richly-endowed  glimpses  of  a  not 
very  distant  perfection,  which  prophesy  improvements  propor- 
tioned to  persevering  efforts,  increase  energy  of  purpose,  and 


336  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

add  wings  to  the  soul.  It  is  thus  that  we  may  send  forth  those 
who  become  preeminently  "  lights  of  the  world,"  shining  the 
more  splendidly  in  contrast  with  the  gloom  from  which  they 
emerged.  The  first  word  of  encouragement  spoken  by  kindred 
greatness  to  the  gifted  heart  awakens  therein  a  consciousness 
of  having  been  created  to  attain  something  greatly  good ;  and 
this  primary  truth  becomes  a  motive  power,  whose  momentum 
and  usefulness  are  augmented  at  each  new  remove,  until  the 
soul  flies  at  length  with  a  majestic  and  swift  effulgence  that 
flings  the  sun  into  the  shade.  Thus  aspirations  that  are 
divinely  free  in  their  nature,  and  grand  in  their  aim, 

"  Pursue  the  flying  storm. ; 
Ride  on  the  volleyed  lightning  through  the  heavens  ; 
Or,  yoked  with  whirlwinds  or  the  northern  blast, 
Sweep  the  long  track  of  day." 

Men  of  rare  endowments  early  and  acutely  feel  that  the 
finger  of  Providence  is  upon  them,  and  that  they  have  some 
high  destiny  to  perform.  Such  was  the  case  with  Cyrus, 
Homer,  Alexander,  Shakspeare,  Milton,  Keats,  Scott,  and 
Napoleon.  Of  all  men  on  earth,  Socrates  was  the  least  likely 
to  be  superstitious  ;  yet  he  believed  he  was  acted  on  by  a  spirit. 
The  greatest  men  in  every  department  of  high  effort  have 
always  asserted  their  belief  of  a  supernatural  stirring  in  their 
youthful  natures,  which  supported  them  in  calamity,  guided 
them  through  sombre  doubts,  and  urged  them  upward  cour- 
ageously, whenever  they  were  encompassed  with  silence  and 
solitude.  But  over  and  above  all  other  resources  of  genius, 
Christianity  bestows  the  blessings  of  infinite  support  and  eternal 
reward.  As  the  dew  by  night,  and  the  sun  by  day,  the  genial 
rain  and  lavish  smile  of  summer,  endow  a  tree  with  its  beauti- 
ful fecundity,  so  do  the  hallowed  influences  of  the  cross  make 
both  fragrant  and  fruitful  the  mind  on  which  they  descend. 
They  are  the  generators  of  fair  ideas,  the  sole  regenerators  of 
fallen  humanity,  breeding  a  brightness  and  a  beatitude  every 
where,  and  nourishing  in  the  feeblest  nature   a  potency  to 


CHRISTIANITY   THE    PATRON    OF    THE   ASPIRING.  337 

hallow  and  redeem.  Whatever  visits  mankind  with  aspirings 
for  something  higher  and  holier  than  the  meagreness  and 
monotony  of  dull  earthliness ;  whatever  tells  them  of  more 
brilliant  and  substantial  possibilities  than  those  that  hover  tran- 
siently round  the  selfish  concerns  of  their  present  career; 
whatever  kindles  within  them  emotions  that  warm  and  stretch 
beyond  the  narrow  affections  of  their  hearths,  and  the  corroding 
anxieties  about  worldly  pelf,  —  is  derived  from  a  source  above 
this  world,  is  an  impulse  and  a  strength  which  guaranties 
human  progression,  and  points  to  glories  above  human  ken,  a 
gladness  hereafter  to  be  fully  revealed.  Enough  is  possessed 
here,  however,  to  make  the  participant  exclaim,  "  O,  to  create 
within  the  mind  is  bliss."  He  prays  perpetually  that  Heaven 
would  breathe  on  him  inspiring  spirit-breath,  and  pants  with 
perpetually  increased  longings  to  ascend  beyond  those  high 
diademed  orbs  which  show  to  the  enraptured  aspirant  his 
crown  to  come. 

The  religion  which  actuates  a  true  disciple  of  Christ  is  no 
mere  faith  of  custom  tagged  on  the  gross  outside  of  his  nature, 
like  a  dormant  bat  to  a  dead  bough,  but  the  spirit  of  a  new 
life,  a  second  and  better,  by  which  he  is  enabled  to  scrutinize 
and  comprehend  all  the  mysteries  of  the  first.  It  is  the  freest 
part  of  man  made  still  freer  by  a  divine  emancipation,  and 
endowed  with  a  competency  to  achieve  the  grandest  results. 
It  is  infinite  excellence  infused  into  every  finite  faculty  by 
assimilation,  causing  all  the  spiritual  attributes  of  the  subject  to 
swell  into  the  sublime  proportions  of  the  model  upon  which 
they  are  formed,  and  ultimately  to  be  filled  with  excellence 
the  most  complete.  Under  this  process,  limited  views  are 
excluded,  and  spiritual  bondage  is  impossible.  The  first  truth 
a  mind  once  disinthralled  learns  is,  that  forced  obedience  is  the 

"  Bane  of  all  genius,  virtue,  freedom,  truth, 
Makes  slaves  of  men,  and  of  the  human  frame 
A  mechanized  automaton." 

He  who  really  feels  the  price  of  his  redemption,  and  longs 
29 


338  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

to  live  to  Christ,  a  pure,  free  mind,  actively  and  widely  employed 
in  the  promotion  of  human  welfare  will  most  industriously 
accumulate  resources  from  without,  while  his  best  strength 
always  springs  from  within  his  own  soul.  The  greatest  load 
of  erudition  lends  the  lightest  wings  to  real  genius,  and  never 
encumbers  them.  True  aspiration  riseth  from  research,  as 
the  force  and  splendor  of  the  flame  are  measured  by  the 
amount  of  fuel  that  feeds  it.  From  his  earliest  youth,  the  true 
man  is  governed  only  by  his  own  deep-rooted  convictions  of 
truth  and  duty,  from  the  prompt  and  persevering  discharge  of 
which  he  is  never  nattered  or  forced  to  flinch.  In  all  the  des- 
perate struggles  generally  requisite  to  promote  the  cause  of 
personal  and  popular  improvement,  —  one  day  in  a  prison,  and 
the  next  day  in  a  palace,  —  he  never  for  an  instant  loses  sight 
of  the  one  grand  end,  —  mercy  for  the  unmerciful  and  increased 
light  for  all.  He  knows  that  the  temple  of  honor  is  seated  on 
an  eminence,  to  be  approached  but  by  some  difficulty,  and  to 
be  entered  only  through  virtue,  which  in  magnanimous  strug- 
gles is  always  tried.  The  treachery  and  cruelty  of  the  envious 
and  mean  may  do  much  to  destroy  his  confidence  in  human 
nature,  and  often  depress  his  mind  when  it  would  rise  to  the 
contemplation  or  execution  of  sublime  designs ;  but  his  equa- 
nimity can  never  be  long  disturbed,  nor  the  dignity  of  his 
ambition  become  permanently  debased.  Ill  treatment  from  the 
strong,  and  bitter  experience  in  common  with  all  the  weak, 
will  only  render  him  but  the  more  diligent  in  accumulating  for 
timely  disbursement  the  resources  of  mercy  and  truth  ;  for  the 
gentle  and  pure  emotions  of  benevolence  ever  hang  about  the 
soul  of  genius,  "  like  a  pearl-wreath  around  beauty's  brow." 
There  is  a  sense  in  which  it  may  be  properly  said  that 
Christianity  has  but  just  begun  its  work  of  reformation  in  the 
highest  and  broadest  form.  Under  its  influence,  we  see  in  our 
day  a  new  order  of  society  created,  and  invited  to  the  enjoy- 
ment of  unprecedented  privileges  and  rights.  The  beneficent 
changes  already  begun,  and  advancing  on  the  largest  scale,  we 
believe,  will  shortly  accomplish  yet  greater  good  by  revealing 


CHRISTIANITY   THE    PATRON    OF    THE   ASPIRING.  339 

to  mankind  at  large  the  worth  and  capabilities  of  their  nature, 
and  by  teaching  them  to  "honor  all"  who  of  that  nature  par- 
take. Viewed  in  its  light,  the  most  obscure  children  of  our 
race  are  beings  cared  for  by  the  Almighty,  to  whom  he  has 
given  his  Son,  upon  whom  he  pours  his  Spirit,  whom  he  has 
created  for  the  greatest  good,  and  whom  he  would  elevate  to  a 
participation  with  himself  in  the  highest  glory.  Perfection  in 
Jesus  Christ  is  revealed  to  all,  even  the  most  infantile  capacities 
of  mankind,  not  for  their  discouragement,  but  most  glorious 
consolation  —  a  model  which  all  are  qualified,  just  in  proportion 
to  the  purity  and  grandeur  of  their  desires,  both  to  approach 
and  imitate.  The  aspirant  may  at  first  bend  in  deepest  gloom  ; 
but  if  he  holds  on  his  way  patiently  and  imploringly,  he  shall 
soon  possess  himself  of  divine  light  and  strength,  that  will 
make  his  spirit  bright  and  buoyant  as  morning  is  in  heaven. 

The  best  product  and  proof  of  true  progress  in  our  day  is 
the  superior  self-culture  sought  and  obtained  by  most  individ- 
uals amongst  the  masses  of  mankind.  Popular  institutions  are 
every  where  rising,  which  are  so  many  centres  radiating  light 
and  improvement  over  the  largest  areas  of  industrious  mind. 
Under  these  genial  influences  the  people  at  large  are  induced 
to  think  and  act  for  themselves,  cultivating  their  own  powers 
and  faculties.  This  is  most  clearly  indicated  by  the  increased 
appreciation  of  those  whom  it  is  most  important  the  body  of 
the  people  should  rightly  estimate,  —  the  men  of  talent,  genius, 
and  worth,  who  spring  from  their  own  humble  ranks.  Work- 
ing-men toiling  daily  with  their  own  hands,  find  or  make  leisure 
to  produce  the  finest  creations  of  matter  and  mind,  which  are 
deemed  none  the  less  valuable  because  they  are  not  the  fruit 
of  aristocratic  patronage.  Time  was  when  the  creators  of 
beautiful  things  were  obliged  to  look  to  a  higher  grade  of  soci- 
ety to  obtain  a  proper  appreciation  of  their  worth.  Then  they 
were  wont  to  stoop  in  order  to  rise ;  become  servile  in  order  to 
obtain  support;  degrade  the  fair  and  holy  gift  within  them 
before  they  could  obtain  the  position  which  seemed  to  belong 
to  their  superior  endowments.     But  such  is  the  state  of  the 


340  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

case  no  longer.  Now,  intellect  is  beginning  to  be  esteemed 
according  to  its  intrinsic  worth,  originate  where  it  may  ;  benefi- 
cent, beautiful,  and  potent  genius  reigns  supreme  everywhere. 
This  is  perfectly  harmonious  with  the  spirit  of  the  age  and  of 
Christ,  for  all  great  gifts  are  always  republican  in  their  char- 
acter and  works.  They  deal  with  the  universal,  and  appeal 
most  directly,  as  well  as  most  powerfully,  to  the  common  heart 
of  man.  They  are  the  imbodiments  and  chief  agents  of  feel- 
ing, thought,  adoration,  and  not  of  external  rank,  form,  or 
station.  The  finest  exemplification  of  worth  oppressed  by 
wrong  in  olden  time,  —  such  as  Prometheus  blessing  mankind 
while  he  defied  the  thunder  of  Jove,  even  when  fastened  to  the 
barren  rock,  with  the  vulture  tearing  at  his  heart,  —  pictures 
exactly  those  who  strike  for  freedom  in  modern  times,  braving 
the  dungeon,  the  stake,  and  the  scaffold,  in  their  enthusiasm 
for  popular  improvement,  and  determination  to  promote  it, 
putting  every  thing  at  stake,  even  their  own  lives.  This  spirit 
has  no  affinity  with  the  few  in  their  exclusive  distinctions,  but 
with  the  many  in  their  generous  passions,  fraternal  fears,  sor- 
rows, joys,  and  triumphs.  It  invites  man  to  the  great  feast  of 
which  God  and  nature  are  the  ample  provisions  in  all  their 
diversity  of  refreshing  gifts.  These  make  their  lover  to  grow 
up  in  lovely  order  and  sublime  harmony ;  to  aspire  towards  an 
affinity  of  infinite  grandeur  with  a  speed  and  splendor  to  which 
the  "  liijhtninu  shall  be  shadow,  and  the  sun  sadness." 

It  has  been  said  that  poetry  "imbodies  the  loftiest  abstrac- 
tions in  the  noblest  forms  ;  the  spirit  of  divinity  in  divine 
imagery.  It  excites  admiration  at  the  great  deeds  of  great 
men,  and  realizes  times  of  old  with  the  heroic  virtues  which 
they  exhibited.  'It  opes  the  sacred  source  of  sympathetic 
tears,'  touching  with  pity  as  with  admiration.  It  rejoices  in 
the  simplicity  of  the  flowery  meadow,  and  the  gorgeousness  of 
the  Gothic  cathedral.  It  teaches  lessons  of  wisdom  in  the 
unity  of  the  epic  and  the  collisions  of  the  drama.  Its  range  is 
from  the  profoundest  philosophy  to  the  lightest  sport ;  and  in 
all,  it  cheers  the  spirit,  purifies  the  aim,  excites  the  exertions, 


CHRISTIANITY   THE    PATRON    OF    THE   ASPIRING.  341 

and  graces  the  conquest,  of  those  who  are  aspiring  towards 
political  freedom  and  social  improvement.  It  gives  them 
power  in  the  pursuit  of  their  object,  and  enhances  the  faculty 
for  its  enjoyment.  And  in  this  diversified  power  there  is  room 
for  the  rainbow  fancy  that  makes  even  tears  sparkle ;  that 
resolves  light  into  its  varied  colors,  and  with  their  hues  paints 
the  water-drop ;  that  gives  grace  and  adornment  to  whatever 
it  touches  ;  that  points  the  keen  sarcasm,  which  must  be  taken 
with  a  smile  as  it  is  pronounced  with  a  smile ;  that  calls  in  the 
alliance  of  kindred  arts,  rendering  music  and  verse  reciprocal 
echoes  of  each  other ;  that  enshrines  poetical  fancies  in  ele- 
mentary and  enduring  melodies  ;  that  aids  the  exhilaration  of 
banquet  and  bower,  of  camp  and  court ;  that  weaves  the  light 
wreath  for  gayest  hours,  and  sounds  the  inspiring  march  to 
which  men  advance  in  sterner  times."  We  should  particularly 
observe  that  this  power,  with  all  other  attributes  of  gifted 
minds,  when  not  perverted  by  priestly  or  regal  influence,  inva- 
riably advocate  the  cause  of  popular  freedom.  Thus  Homer 
was  the  poet  of  Greek  republicanism.  Amid  all  the  diversified 
imagery  of  his  writings,  through  all  his  conflicts,  single  or 
multitudinous,  there  stands  out  palpably  one  pervading  idea  — 
the  mischief  which  accrued  to  his  country  from  the  strife  of 
aristocratic  partisans,  when  "  for  the  king's  offence  the  people 
died."  Still  more  strikingly  is  this  seen  in  the  great  Christian 
poet  Milton.  In  his  correspondence,  some  one  who  had  written 
to  him  praised  his  "  policy."  He  disclaimed  the  term,  saying 
that  it  was  not  policy  upon  which  he  acted,  but  religious  pat- 
riotism. This  was  ever  the  prevailing  principle  with  him  ;  it 
was  his  head,  heart,  and  conscience ;  and  it  was  in  perfect 
harmony  with  his  nature,  always  aspiring  to  perfect  freedom, 
that,  having  at  one  time  selected  King  Arthur  for  the  subject  of 
an  epic,  he  soon  discarded  that  theme,  and  determined  to  rep- 
resent the  fortunes  of  the  human  race  as  imbodied  in  that  of 
their  first  ancestors  ;  in  which  production  he  showed  the  strong- 
est love  of  freedom  and  the  clearest  principles  of  republicanism 
29* 


342  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

beating  in  his  heart  and  crowning  with  a  supernal  glory  all  the 
creations  of  his  lofty  intellect. 

Thus  have  we  endeavored  to  show  that  Christianity,  pure  of 
spirit,  and  legitimate  in  exercise,  which  was  proudly  contemned 
when  most  pure,  is  adapted  to  encourage  the  deserving  when 
most  depressed,  and  ever  delights  to  patronize  all  aspirations 
that  are  both  free  and  grand.  It  coins  words  in  young  and 
generous  hearts  that  are  often  as  brave  as  the  bravest  deeds ; 
words  that  have  created  revolutions  more  memorable,  more 
enduring,  and  more  blissful,  than  the  most  glorious  battles  that 
freedom  ever  gained  with  martial  weapons.  They  are  words 
compounded  of  wisdom,  courage,  and  love,  but  not  of  that 
shallow  cunning,  and  commonplace  charlatanism,  which  hunt 
for  insipid  popularity  by  fawning  on  arrogant  power.  The 
brave,  free,  and  consistent  Christian  scorns  all  crippling  conven- 
tionalisms, stands  up  fearlessly,  though  alone,  to  resist  every 
form  of  injustice,  labors  assidupusly  and  kindly  to  foster  every 
order  of  merit,  and  sows  with  a  lavish  hand  the  seed  destined 
to  make  glad  the  eye  of  coming  centuries,  in  view  of  unlimited 
harvests  gleaming  with  immortal  richness  and  eternally  repro- 
duced. Thus  obscure  and  discarded  youth,  like  young  Christ 
battling  against  the  penury,  hypocrisies,  and  popular  wrongs 
of  his  day,  learn  in  solitude  and  gloom  to  continue  undaunted 
by  obstacles,  while  they  nourish  noble  thoughts,  and  verify  to 
themselves  that  to  persevere  unsubdued  by  defeats,  is  itself  the 
most  glorious  success  we  can  know  on  earth.  The  blows  of 
adversity  prepare  them  for  future  triumphs ;  more  closely 
incorporate  the  greatest  mental  strength  of  their  being  with 
its  greatest  affection  ;  and  in  the  full  development  of  both, 
create  an  enthusiasm  for  perfection,  and  a  sympathy  with  all 
who  aspire  toward  it,  which  no  hardship  can  depress  and  no 
tyranny  resist. 


CHAPTER    III. 

CHRISTIANITY    THE    FORTIFIER    OF 
THE    WEAK. 

The  general  points  discussed  in  this  series  of  chapters,  on 
the  republican  influence  of  Christian  doctrine,  will  be  found 
to  harmonize  with  those  considered  in  the  corresponding  de- 
lineations of  the  republican  character  of  Jesus  Christ,  which 
constitute  the  first  part  of  this  work.  In  saying  that  Chris- 
tianity is  the  solace  of  the  obscure,  the  patron  of  the  aspiring, 
the  fortifier  of  the  weak,  &c,  we  but  remind  ourselves  that  the 
Savior  of  the  world  emerged  from  the  deepest  earthly  gloom, 
was  most  contemned  in  his  early  aspirations,  and  needed 
continually  to  pray  that  his  human  weakness  might  be  divinely 
sustained.  As  was  our  Lord  in  the  lowly  and  trying  circum- 
stances of  his  incarnate  state,  so  is  every  truthful  disciple  who 
has  imbibed  his  spirit,  and  would  imitate  his  beneficent  life. 
He  needs  all  the  succors  afforded  by  a  divine  example,  as  well 
as  the  history  of  a  divine  belief;  and,  in  all  his  struggles,  should 
remember  that  Christianity  was  fiercely  persecuted  when  most 
weak  ;  sympathizes  with  the  suffering  when  most  wronged  ; 
and  fortifies  the  confiding  with  invincible  strength. 

In  the  first  place,  the  fact  that  Christianity  was  fiercely  per- 
secuted in  the  feebleness  of  its  youth,  is  perfectly  consistent 
with  the  character  it  bore  in  contrast  with  the  world  it  came  to 
redeem.  At  the  time  Christ  appeared,  the  world  stood  in  the 
greatest  need  of  a  religion  at  once  moral,  intelligible,  and 
spiritual ;  adapted  to  human  nature,  level  to  the  capacities  of 
the  multitude,  fitted  to  all  countries,  and  ennobling  in  its  influ- 
ence upon  all  institutions.  Christianity  exactly  and  fully  met 
this  want,  because  all  its  doctrines  respecting  God  and  our 


344  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

relations  to  him  agreed  perfectly  with  the  moral  law,  and  most 
facilitated  human  obedience.  It  poured  the  clearest  light  upon 
ethics,  and  rendered  their  sacred  obligations  most  intuitive. 
Moreover,  it  prescribed  no  external  rites  and  ceremonies,  but 
such  as,  by  their  manifest  moral  and  exalting  efficacy,  best 
demonstrated  their  own  intrinsic  worth.  Because  Christianity, 
by  its  very  nature,  was  most  intimately  connected  with  all  in 
man  that  is  most  lasting  and  unchangeable,  it  was  happily 
fitted  to  become  universal,  and  was  designed,  by  infinite  wis- 
dom and  love,  to  exert  the  best  influence  on  man's  temporal 
and  eternal  welfare.  She  lends  human  nature  that  aid  which 
is  indispensable  to  self-conquest,  and  which  has  always  been 
most  anxiously  desired.  In  this  new  fountain  of  salvation, 
infinitely  capacious  and  purifying,  the  world  was  invited  to 
participate  in  energies  the  most  potent  and  salutary,  animat- 
ing and  ennobling  man  in  every  faculty  and  every  where, 
rescuing  body  and  soul  from  every  form  of  vassalage,  regulat- 
ing all  his  social  relations,  and  filling  him  with  all  the  fulness 
of  divine  freedom  and  love. 

The  better  to  conceive  the  worth  of  this  religion,  we  have  but 
to  glance  at  the  moral  character  of  the  world,  when  its  divine 
Author  was  fiercely  persecuted,  and  all  its  heavenly  claims 
were  first  repelled.  When  Christ  appeared,  earth  presented 
nothing  but  the  frightful  spectacle  of  ignorance,  slaughter,  and 
slavery.  The  foot  of  the  strong  was  perpetually  on  the  necks 
of  the  despairing  and  unresisting  masses,  while  the  oppressors 
never  ceased  to  carry  on  the  bloodiest  conflicts  among  them- 
selves. Thus,  while  the  majority  were  in  perpetual  chains, 
and  the  minority  in  perpetual  strife,  the  whole  race  appeared 
supremely  cursed.  From  the  perpetuity  of  such  misery 
Christianity  came  to  free  mankind.  Infinite  truth  and  mercy 
appeared  on  the  field  of  conflict  to  encourage  the  feeble  to 
resist  the  strong,  and  to  resist  them  effectually.  But  while  the 
tyrannical  minority  was  to  be  checked  and  overthrown  by 
redeemed  and  enlightened  majorities,  it  was  not  anarchy  that 
was  appointed  to  rule,  but  love.     Both  parties  were  first  to  be 


CHRISTIANITY   THE    FORTIFIER    OF    THE   WEAK.  345 

reasoned  with,  then  conciliated,  and  finally  blended  in  one 
common  championship  of  the  highest  freedom  and  blandest 
truth.  Thus,  amidst  the  greatest  oppressions  and  most  ex- 
asperated antagonists,  Christianity  appears  with  weapons  at 
once  invincible  and  unavenging,  because  she  comes  to  save, 
and  not  to  destroy.  Her  design  is,  if  possible,  to  convert  into 
a  votary  the  enraged  tyrant,  even  while  she  rescues  the  bleed- 
ing victim;  and  therefore  does  she  mildly  interpose  for  the 
benefit  of  both,  with  a  power 

"  Which,  like  a  strong  man's  arm, 
Keeps  back  two  foes  whose  lips  are  white, 
Whose  hearts  with  rage  are  warm." 

Moral  aspirings  and  religious  yearnings  have  never  been 
entirely  unknown  to  human  nature  ;  but  it  was  impossible  for 
spiritual  perfection  to  be  obtained,  so  long  as  blind  coercion  was 
predominant.  The  kingdom  of  physical  energy  was  carried 
to  its  grandest  height  by  the  Romans,  and  was  doomed  to  pass 
away  at  the  dawn  of  that  better  kingdom,  based  on  intellectual 
immunities  for  all,  under  the  beneficent  dominion  of  which  the 
most  mutilated  and  degraded  child  of  a  suffering  race  might 
become  a  perfect  man.  And  though  the  main  purpose  of 
Christ,  and  the  immediate  effect  of  his  incarnation,  was  to 
teach  true  morality  and  a  saving  religion,  the  indirect  and  very 
important  influence  of  his  doctrines,  for  eighteen  centuries,  has 
been  to  substitute  the  reign  of  free  intellectual  power  for  that  of 
arbitrary  dictation  every  where.  This  tends  to  the  repossession 
of  original  rights,  and  the  equal  balance  of  all  our  faculties,  in 
which  every  man  will  become  a  son  of  God,  by  uniting,  in  their 
just  proportions  and  healthful  exercise,  his  physical  energy,  in- 
tellectual power,  moral  ability,  and  religious  affections.  The 
chief  instrument  for  working  out  this  external  equality  and  in- 
ternal equilibrium  is  Christianity,  the  divine  balm  of  the  keenest 
woe,  which  tyrants  of  every  grade  most  fiercely  hate.  But 
the  time  has  come,  when  consolidated  power  and  vengeful 
persecution  can  no  longer  prevent  the  steady  growth  and 
ultimate  triumph  of  the  true  lawgivers  and  most  potent  rulers 


346  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

of  the  age,  who,  at  the  outset,  seldom  or  never  occupy  situations 
of  note,  are  little  known,  and  are  seldom  heard  by  the  unheed- 
ing crowds  around  them.  Nevertheless,  it  is  they  who  appear 
as  the  high  priests  of  destiny,  whose  whispered  thoughts  evoke 
the  tempests  which  annihilate  empires  and  shatter  chains. 
From  the  nineteenth  century  onward,  earth  will  be  governed 
by  crownless  and  sceptreless  monarchs,  whose  only  homage 
will  be  the  revolutions  they  have  promoted,  and  the  universal 
blessings  they  have  conferred.  Our  race  will  soon  have 
learned  that  there  is  human  truth  and  divine  truth  harmo- 
niously blended,  and  offered  equally  to  all  in  Christ,  the  first 
great  Teacher  of  republican  doctrine,  infinitely  higher  and 
more  salutary  than  the  bigoted  creeds  which  selfish  priests  sell 
to  their  victims,  and  which  trembling  despots  are  always 
ambitious  to  bind  on  all  free  souls.  From  such  wretched 
creatures  the  good  may  expect  persecution,  for  that  which 
they  most  hate  they  certainly  have  good  reason  most  to 
fear. 

Christianity  plants  redemption  and  perfects  order  in  society, 
by  imparting  force  to  reason  and  uprightness  to  conscience ; 
and  these  are  precisely  the  attributes  which  it  is  impossible  for 
oppression  long  to  resist.  In  vain  may  despots  expect  to  hold 
mankind  bound  by  a  chain,  every  link  of  which  has  previously 
been  sundered  by  the  lightning  of  truth.  As,  in  the  original 
creation,  the  kindling  elements  raved  and  struggled  in  the 
gigantic  chaos  —  water  and  fire,  darkness  and  light,  at  war  — 
vapor  and  cloud  hardening  into  mountains,  while  the  Breath 
of  Life  moved  a  steadfast  splendor  over  all ;  so,  in  the  grand 
moral  renovations  of  our  day,  —  when  the  new  heavens  and 
new  earth  -seem  rapidly  forming,  —  light  pierces  to  the  lowest 
depths,  permeates  the  greatest  masses,  discriminates  between 
all  spiritual  and  material  elements,  energizes  every  rational 
being  to  act  for  himself,  and  qualifies  him  to  be  his  own  teacher, 
guide,  and  judge.  The  word  of  God  is  open  for  all,  and  there 
is  but  one  Priest  in  the  universe  who  has  a  right  to  say,  "  If 
any  man  lack  wisdom,  let  him  ask  of  me."     It  is  the  religion 


CHRISTIANITY   THE   FORTIFIER    OF    THE   WEAK.  347 

of  this  our  only  Prophet,  Priest,  and  Ruler  supreme,  that 
declares  the  poorest  child  ever  born  in  the  lowest  vale  of 
human  life,  to  be  like  himself,  infinitely  more  worthy  of 
regard  than  planets,  satellites,  and  suns,  in  their  harmonious 
movements,  because,  with  all  their  magnitude  and  magnifi- 
cence, the  intellectual,  the  moral,  the  patient,  the  energetic, 
the  overcoming  immortality  in  a  human  bosom,  swelling 
though  it  may  be  under  the  tatters  of  most  absolute  want,  in 
its  diversity  of  endowment  and  grandeur  of  destiny,  is  the 
most  interesting  and  sublime  of  all  finite  objects  upon  which 
the  universe  can  gaze.  As  Christianity  regards  every  human 
being  as  an  heir  of  earth's  best  blood,  born  with  no  inferior 
right  to  the  free  and  full  enjoyment  of  Heaven's  highest  bless- 
ings, it  is  not  wonderful  that  it  is  arrogantly  hated  by  those 
whose  only  delight  is  in  persecuting  the  weak. 

Secondly,  we  proceed  to  remark,  more  fully,  that  Christianity 
sympathizes  with  the  suffering  when  most  wronged.  It  is  a 
truth  proved  and  exemplified  by  numerous  examples  on  every 
hand,  that  merit  the  most  elevated  and  abundant  originates 
in  apparently  the  most  unpropitious  scenes.  It  is  a  fact 
worthy  of  reflection,  that  those  persons  who  are  reared  in 
homes  of  classic  elegance,  improved  by  art,  and  embellished 
with  natural  charms,  like  Edens,  whence  stark,  deformed,  and 
vulgar  need  is  excluded  with  greatest  care,  are  rarely  bene- 
fited by,  or  worthy  of,  their  superior  blessings.  The  man- 
ners and  superficial  culture  of  such,  are,  indeed,  generally 
tinctured  with  the  refinement  that  surrounds  them ;  but  rarely 
does  it  imbue  the  intellect  with  rugged  power,  or  invest  the 
heart  with  sterling  charms.  The  master-spirits  who  sow  the 
earth  with  grand  thoughts,  and  adorn  it  with  beneficent  deeds, 
are  invariably  the  produce  of  a  pure  and  free  soil,  who  pro- 
claim, in  a  healthful  and  fruitful  growth,  the  vigorous  source 
whence  they  sprung,  and  the  unbounded  resources  they  com- 
mand, delicate  in  their  diction,  rich  in  their  imagery,  ex- 
alted in  their  thought,  thrilling  in  their  own  heart  with  an 
exquisite  sense  of  the  beautiful,  and  impressive  before  others 


348  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

with  the  most  august  unfoldings  of  the  sublime.  The  passion 
which  family  pride,  sectarian  zeal,  or  pedantic  exclusiveness 
aims  to  feed,  is  light  which,  like  straw  on  flame,  may  be  a 
fierce,  but  is  also  a  fading  fire.  Whereas  the  education  con- 
ferred by  our  holy  religion  on  the  minds  and  hearts  of  suffer- 
ing devotees  who  kneel  at  her  altars  in  the  solitary  glen,  or  on 
the  mountain-side,  is  as  profound  as  it  is  comprehensive,  sub- 
stantial in  its  basis,  and  gorgeous  in  its  adornments  ;  a  system 
of  ennobling  truth  and  unfading  glory,  built  like  the  temple  of 
the  Infinite,  "  whose  bright  foundations  are  the  heights  of 
heaven." 

That  sympathy  for  the  suffering  which  Christianity  most 
strongly  prompts  and  most  bountifully  rewards  is  designed  to 
teach,  as  the  first  lesson  in  its  school,  that  earth,  and  the  sepa- 
rable elements  which  compose  it,  were  not  created  for  a  class, 
but  as  free  blessings  for  all.  "  The  common  sun,  the  air, 
the  skies,"  were  not  designed  for  more  equal  apportionment 
among  mankind  than  were  the  common  blessings  of  intel- 
lectual enjoyment,  moral  cultivation,  and  personal  liberty. 
This  position,  we  know,  is  denied  by  some,  and  its  practical 
realization  is  opposed  by  many.  It  is  to  be  confessed,  more- 
over, that  great  minds,  such  as  impress  their  characteristic 
marks  upon  the  age  in  which  they  are  matured,  and  thence- 
forward, like  the  mightiest  rivers,  pursue  their  beneficent  course 
from  the  obscure  fountains  of  their  origin,  making  continents 
fruitful  as  they  perpetually  flow,  are  very  rare.  The  severe 
circumstances  which  usually  attend  superior  merit,  will  easily 
explain  the  cause.  But  it  is  not  only  manifest  that  the  best 
gifts  of  Providence  are  the  commonest,  and  the  best  gifts  of 
intellect  the  rarest ;  it  is  equally  clear  that  there  is  a  perpetual 
tendency  in  these  rare  gifts  to  become  common,  and  it  is  the 
peculiar  office  of  Christianity  to  promote  such  a  republican 
equalization.  The  highest  order  of  intellect  is  always  the 
most  active  and  beneficent ;  this  law  holds  good  from  God 
himself  down  through  all  gradations  of  moral  existences. 
Around  the  most  exalted  mental  and  moral  excellence  the 


CHRISTIANITY   THE    FORTIFIER    OF   THE    WEAK.  349 

purest  atmosphere  is  most  rapidly  generated,  which  tends  most 
powerfully  towards  distinct  expression,  in  order  to  teach  most 
widely  the  most  important  truths.  Hence  persons  who  are 
born  in  the  possession  of  the  greatest  native  excellence  always 
bring  with  them  that  indomitable  energy  and  useful  activity 
which  characterize  Him  who  never  wearieth,  and  with  a 
divine  purpose  diffuse  themselves  wider  and  yet  wider  through 
society,  until  they  become  the  common  portion  and  heritage 
of  mankind.  All  great  prophets,  apostles,  poets,  artists,  wri- 
ters, orators,  redeemers,  are  products  and  proofs  of  this  prin- 
ciple. Their  being's  end  and  aim  is  to  diffuse  knowledge  : 
the  ever-increasing  and  multiplying  excitement  of  intellect ; 
the  renovation  and  exaltation  of  hearts  ;  the  rescuing  of  im- 
mortal souls  from  apathy,  grossness,  absorption  in  the  things 
that  perish  ;  the  carrying  forward  an  impeded  race,  and  train- 
ing our  common  nature  for  its  predestined  maturity  of  thought 
and  holy  emotion,  —  this  is  the  grand  reason  why  all  true  great- 
ness is  born,  antagonizes  through  frightful  gloom  with  frightful 
wrongs,  is  persecuted  by  tyrants,  revered  by  the  masses,  and 
at  length,  in  mockery,  is  crucified  that  all  the  world  may  be 
blessed. 

In  this  connection,  it  should  be  observed,  that  the  commonest, 
material  auxiliaries  are  subservient  to,  and  connected  with,  the 
spread  of  the  rarest  intellectual  and  spiritual  blessings.  As  if 
Jehovah  was  especially  intent  on  causing  the  most  desirable 
treasures  to  be  most  rapidly  and  widely  diffused,  he  requires 
only  the  very  simplest  means  to  be  employed  in  connection 
with  his  own  invaluable  gifts.  For  instance,  printing  demands 
only  some  bits  of  metal,  and  not  types  of  precious  gems ;  a  few 
rags  spread  into  paper,  and  not  sheets  of  refined  gold.  The 
telegraph,  that  streams  the  creations  of  genius  over  earth,  asks 
only  a  coil  of  iron  wire  as  a  track,  while  all  heaven  furnishes 
the  lightning  messengers  to  play  thereon.  The  guide  which 
conducts  commerce  athwart  oceans  is  but  a  tiny  rod  of  steel 
vitalized  with  a  power  direct  from  God ;  and  the  almost  om- 
nipotent agent  working  so  patiently  and  irresistibly  beneath 
30 


350  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

the  deck,  while  its  sturdy  arms  lash  the  huge  billows  into  foam, 
and  sweep  sublimely  from  continent  to  continent,  is  but  the 
simple  subordination  to  a  high  purpose  of  two  elements  the 
most  universal  and  accessible  to  man.  As  in  nature,  art,  and 
science,  so  is  it  in  grace ;  the  most  needful  is  most  abundant, 
and  should  be  most  equally  diffused  :  since  God  grants  all 
gratuitously,  the  man  who  presumes  to  deprive  his  fellow  of 
his  lawful  share,  is  dastardly  mean  and  the  most  accursed. 
The  effeminate,  the  selfish,  and  the  proud  may  treat  with  neg- 
lect the  predestined  sons  of  might  and  heroes  of  good  ;  but 
Christianity  sympathizes  with  them  when  most  wronged,  and 
is  rapidly  preparing  the  way  all  over  the  world  for  the  full 
development  of  their  worth,  and  its  appropriate  reward. 

"  Beneath,  the  frown  of  wicked  men 
The  people's  strength  is  bowing ; 
But,  thanks  to  God,  they  can't  prevent 
The  lone  wild  flowers  from  blowing  ! 

"  On  useful  hands  and  honest  hearts 
The  base  their  wrath  are  wreaking  ; 
But,  thanked  be  God,  they  can't  prevent 
The  storm  of  heaven  from  speaking." 

There  is  another  great  law  of  divine  beneficence  eminently 
worthy  of  observation.  It  is,  that  those  things  which  relate  to 
our  highest  welfare  most  powerfully  affect  the  common  mind, 
and  most  strongly  cleave  even  to  the  weakest  memory.  The 
missionary  Moffat  says,  that,  when  he  had  concluded  a  long 
sermon  to  a  great  number  of  African  savages,  his  hearers 
divided  into  companies,  to  talk  the  subject  over.  "  While  thus 
engaged,  my  attention  was  arrested  by  a  simple-looking  young 
man,  at  a  short  distance.  The  person  referred  to  was  holding 
forth,  with  great  animation,  to  a  number  of  people,  who  were 
all  attention.  On  approaching,  I  found,  to  my  surprise,  that 
he  was  preaching  my  sermon  over  again,  with  uncommon  pre- 
cision, and  with  great  solemnity,  imitating,  as  nearly  as  he 
could,  the  gestures  of  the  original.  A  greater  contrast  could 
scarcely  be  conceived,  than  the  fantastic  figure  and  the  solem- 


CHRISTIANITY   THE    FORTIFIER    OF    THE    WEAK.  351 

nity  of  his  language  —  his  subject  being  eternity,  while  he 
evidently  felt  what  he  spoke.  Not  wishing  to  disturb  him,  I 
allowed  him  to  finish  the  recital,  and,  seeing  him  soon  after, 
•told  him  that  he  could  do  what  I  was  sure  I  could  not,  —  that 
was,  preach  again  the  same  sermon  verbatim.  He  did  not 
appear  vain  of  his  superior  memory.  '  When  I  hear  any  thing 
great,'  he  said,  touching  his  forehead  with  his  finger,  '  it  re- 
mains there.'  "  What  shall  we  say  of  those  who  despise  the 
condition  and  wants  of  their  fellow-beings,  who  grovel  in  such 
deep  degradation,  and  yet,  even  when  most  benighted,  possess 
such  abilities  to  feel  and  know  ? 

Lessing  says,  "  Revelation  is  to  the  whole  race  of  mankind, 
what  education  is  to  the  individual  person.  Education  is  a 
revelation  made  to  a  single  man ;  and  revelation  is  the  educa- 
tion of  the  whole  race  of  mankind,  which  has  taken  place, 
and  continues  still  to  take  place."  We  may  consider  it  as  a 
training,  by  diversity  of  means,  and  through  a  succession  of 
efforts,  by  wonders  real  and  apparent,  by  a  beautiful  arrange- 
ment of  the  most  common  occurrences,  as  well  as  by  an  influ- 
ence both  hidden  and  divine.  The  spirit  of  Christ  sympa- 
thizes with  the  suffering,  and  labors  on  their  behalf,  by  sending 
forth  its  redeeming  energies  through  tender  and  intelligent 
disciples  who  spring  from  the  multitudes,  can  comprehend 
their  struggles,  mitigate  their  anguish,  and  supply  all  their 
wants.  Hence  it  was  not  scholastic  erudition,  or  the  influence 
of  royal  station,  that  Christianity  first  employed  to  plant  her 
institutions ;  but  the  fishermen,  the  tax-gatherer,  and  the  tent- 
maker,  who  could  replenish  every  vale  with  truth,  easily  un- 
derstood and  rapturously  enjoyed  ;  plant  gospel  banners  on 
every  shore,  which  should  be  seen  in  all  directions  afar;  and, 
beginning  at  the  lowest  rank,  ascend  to  the  highest,  with  ac- 
cents adapted  to  the  faculties-of  each,  and  good  news  of  great 
joy  for  all.  The  most  industrious  and  most  oppressed  classes 
were  first  disciplined  by  the  hopes  and  fears,  sorrows  and  di- 
vine consolations,  of  our  holy  religion,  that  they  who  had  suf- 
fered most  and  been  most  consoled  by  the  heavenly  treasure 


352  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

they  possessed,  might  become  the  instructors  of  the  world  in  a 
loftier  theology,  purer  morality,  and  brighter  prospects  of  free- 
dom and  improvement  than  the  world  had  ever  before  received. 
It  was  this  sympathetic  gospel  which  gave  a  new  and  unusual 
depth  of  feeling,  a  fulness  of  inward  life  to  mankind.  It  im- 
parted moral  earnestness,  intellectual  energy,  and  religious 
fervor  to  the  lowest  grade  of  its  subjects,  and  thus  emancipated 
them  from  the  tutelage  of  effete  dogmas,  and  developed  in 
their  souls  a  new,  living  form  of  truth,  the  most  dignified,  and 
graced  with  all  the  glories  of  felt  redemption,  atonement,  and 
justification  before  Almighty  God.  It  was  this  that  awoke  hu- 
manity to  a  keener  consciousness  of  its  character,  its  wants, 
and  the  infinitude  of  heavenly  supplies.  In  Christ  earth  saw, 
for  the  first  time,  the  religion  of  freedom  the  most  republican 
and  pure  —  freedom  toward  God  and  toward  all  mankind. 
It  is  this  only  that  can  make  one  feel  how  grand  a  thing  it  is  to 
be  in  perfect  harmony  with  the  infinite  universe,  and  in  perfect 
identity  with  the  infinite  God  ;  to  be,  instead  of  social  slaves, 
the  agents  of  social  emancipation  ;  to  revere  none  of  the 
monstrous  idols  human  weakness  or  human  vanity  hath  set 
up  ;  to  bear  a  brow  always  bold  and  radiant,  as  if  the  smile  of 
heaven  beamed  thereon  ;  to  tread  the  green  earth  with  an 
innocent  but  intrepid  step,  not  crouching  to  any  human  lord  ;  to 
be  effulgent  in  the  midst  of  surrounding  darkness,  cheerful  and 
strong  before  the  desponding  and  weak  ;  spurning,  not  merely 
fetters  for  ourselves,  but  breaking  the  fetters  of  all  the  op- 
pressed ;  the  distributors  of  great  and  regenerating  ideas,  as 
well  as  the  prompt  performers  of  the  most  commonplace 
duties ;  and,  thrilled  by  the  recollection  of  glorious  deeds 
already  done,  and  inspired  by  the  consciousness  of  augmented 
purity  and  power  yet  in  reserve,  to  pant  for  the  possession  of 
a  loftier  ideal  of  individual  excellence,  an  unlimited  prospect 
of  universal  bliss.  The  diviner  the  enjoyments  we  receive 
from  Heaven,  the  greater  is  our  obligation,  and  the  warmer  is 
our  impulse  to  lavish  them  on  others,  that  all  the  earth  may 
come  to  share  equally  in  our  joys.     The  true  Christian  will  be 


CHRISTIANITY   THE    FORTIFIER    OF   THE   WEAK.  353 

untiring  and  impartial  in  the  exercise  of  his  sympathetic  re- 
gards and  beneficent  activity,  remembering  the  great  Redeemer 
said,  "  Freely  ye  have  received,  freely  give." 

Divine  truth  is  the  primary  want  of  the  human  soul,  the 
ground  of  its  own  emancipation,  and  the  means  of  its  triumph 
over  all  outward  foes.  The  full  expansion  and  complete 
donation  of  this  highest  gift  God  has  reserved  to  the  ultimate 
energies  of  Christian  doctrine  on  all  mankind.  All  virtue  is 
the  inimitable  fruit  of  truth ;  and  the  gospel  is  worthy  of  all 
acceptation,  because  the  excellence  it  produces  is  the  most 
veracious  and  enduring.  It  is  this  that  has  traversed  the  tem- 
pests of  so  many  generations,  perpetually  unfolding  a  brighter 
horizon  to  the  world,  regenerating  its  ideas,  and  developing 
the  best  civilization  every  where  in  its  course.  If  we  are  in 
possession  of  this  heavenly  treasure,  and,  as  true  Christians, 
sympathize  with  the  suffering  when  most  wronged,  we  shall 
at  any  cost  impart  to  them  the  assistance  which  most  mitigates 
their  sorrows  and  augments  their  strength.  We  have  it  in 
our  power  to  bestow  on  the  needy  a  favor  the  highest  in  the 
universe,  and  which  the  loftiest  angel  might  well  be  ambitious 
to  convey.  This  treasure  is  enlightening  and  redeeming  truth, 
more  productive  than  earth,  more  lasting  than  time,  exalted  as 
God,  and  glorious  as  the  eternal  throne.  When  a  man  gives 
his  property,  the  earth  he  holds  under  his  feet,  it  is  much ; 
nevertheless,  it  is  the  gift  of  something  foreign  to  himself. 
When  he  gives  his  heart,  it  is  more  and  better ;  but  that  heart, 
all  precious  as  it  may  be,  is  the  gift  of  something  full  of  fick- 
leness and  mortality  :  a  time  will  come  when  the  giver  will  no 
longer  be  able  to  create  even  the  movement  necessary  to  make 
his  heart  a  gift.  But  there  is  in  a  Christianized  man  something 
which,  while  it  is  in  and  of  himself,  so  made  by  divine  grace, 
is  more  than  himself,  something  that  never  recedes,  never 
changes,  never  dies :  we  may  even  dare  to  say  that  it  is  some- 
thing more  than  immortal ;  it  is  eternal.  Man  is  a  compound 
of  time  and  eternity,  and  it  is  by  truth  that  eternity  enters  into 
his  composition.  Daughter  of  eternity,  deathless  herself,  Truth 
30* 


354  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

has  descended  to  time  by  incarnating  herself  in  the  intelligence 
of  man,  and,  endangered  by  this  inhabitation  of  suffering  from 
our  nature,  she  communicates  to  her  possessor  the  immunities 
and  rights  of  all  her  original  strength.  While  all  else  changes 
within  us,  even  the  sentiments  of  the  heart  and  faculties  of 
the  mind,  Truth  preserves  her  immutable  life,  and,  in  giving 
her  to  others,  we  impart  something  that  will  survive  ourselves, 
will  outlast  the  decay  of  all  transient  things,  and  bloom  perpet- 
ually beyond  the  grave,  redolent  of  the  graces  gathered  from 
every  generation  of  time  to  crown  the  unending  youth  of  her 
eternity. 

Truth  is  every  thing  to  the  soul,  while  error  is  worse  than 
nothing.  The  first  is  a  profound  well,  wherein  the  farther  it  is 
sunk  the  more  profusely  and  powerfully  the  water  gushes  ;  the 
other  is  a  stagnant  pit  evaporated,  or,  as  the  Scripture  says, 
"  broken  cisterns  that  can  hold  no  water."  The  truth  bestowed 
and  fortified  by  divine  religion,  that  religion  which  God  has 
given  to  earth  in  Jesus  Christ,  is  profoundly  seated  at  the 
centre  of  humanity,  like  the  primitive  granite  which  supports 
the  world;  it  there  conceals  divine  fire  and  divine  water, a  fire 
that  forever  burns  but  to  purify,  a  water  which  it  is  impossible 
to  exhaust  while  it  eternally  flows.  In  proportion  as  we  explore 
the  depths  of  this  wisdom  and  love,  we  discover  new  tributa- 
ries, streams  unknown,  reservoirs  unlimited,  even  until  we 
pierce  to  the  centre,  and,  having  given  the  last  blow,  the 
immortal  stream  of  immaculate  truth  springs  up  to  the  skies, 
satisfying  our  thirst  without  extinguishing  it,  and  raising  the 
enraptured  soul  on  its  swelling  tide  even  to  the  threshold  of 
heaven's  own  temple,  wherein  God  will  crown  the  humble  and 
diligent  believer  with  all  the  fulness  of  himself.  Until  we 
reach  that  consummation  of  mental  and  moral  bliss,  we  cannot 
expect  entirely  to  escape  from  the  influence  of  falsehood  and 
the  pangs  of  doubt.  Whatever  may  be  the  charms  of  truth  here 
below,  there  will  always  be  opposed  to  it  the  charm  of  error ; 
whatever  may  be  the  abundance  of  light,  enough  of  clouds 
will  always  remain  to  obscure  it.     It  is  by  faith  and  patience 


CHRISTIANITY    THE    FORTIFIER    OF    THE    WEAK.  355 

that  the  checkered  path  through  sunshine  and  storm  is  to  be 
traversed,  and  the  goal  of  shadowless  glory  be  finally  attained. 
Truth  itself  is  unaffected  by  the  vicissitudes  of  time.  Like  a 
pyramid  immovable  and  unshattered,  it  stands  amid  the  moving 
sands  and  desolating  elements  of  earth ;  but  we  have  only  to 
descend  to  its  base,  in  removing  the  dust  and  ruins  that  encum- 
ber it,  and  a  light  brighter  than  the  sun  will  flash  from  founda- 
tion to  summit,  to  satisfy  the  intelligence  of  all  who  honestly 
inquire,  recompense  their  attention,  and  imbue  them  with 
unwasting  strength. 

The  breath  of  the  Almighty,  as  it  originally  vivified  and 
inspired  the  human  soul,  compelled  it,  by  the  very  nature  of 
its  attributes,  to  be  intellectual,  moral,  affectionate,  susceptible 
of  happiness,  and  religious.  Man  is  the  same  still,  so  far  as  it 
pleases  himself;  his  will  is  free  ;  he  is  a  free  agent.  Revela- 
tion, while  it  has  not  a  word  of  discussion  on  the  subject  of 
moral  liberty,  every  where  addresses  itself  to  our  race,  under 
both  covenants,  as  to  free  beings.  "  See,"  said  Moses  to 
Israel,  "  I  call  heaven  and  earth  to  record  this  day  against 
you,  that  I  have  set  before  you  life  and  death,  blessing  and 
cursing;  therefore  choose  life!"  "Thus  saith  the  Lord,  Be- 
hold, I  set  before  you  the  way  of  life  and  the  way  of  death." 
"  Return  unto  me  and  I  will  return  unto  you,  saith  the  Lord  of 
hosts,"  by  the  voice  of  Malachi.  "  This  do  and  thou  shalt 
live,"  were  the  words  of  Christ  to  the  doctor  of  the  law. 
Now,  this  will,  power,  liberty  of  man,  which  cannot  go  so  far 
as  to  rob  him  of  the  cardinal  properties  of  his  nature,  does 
often  go  so  far  as  to  disturb  their  just  equilibrium,  and  to  induce 
in  him  the  cultivation  of  some  one  faculty  to  the  detriment  of 
others,  and  even  so  far  as  to  subject  the  religious  to  the  baser 
tendencies,  although  its  legitimate  province  is  to  rule  supreme 
in  all  the  faculties,  harmonize  and  approximate  them  to  the 
infinite.  It  is  the  divine  prerogative  of  truth,  therefore,  to 
restore  the  original  sovereignty  of  the  best  powers,  and  the 
symmetrical  development  of  all.  In  this  matter,  there  is  no 
question  of  more  or  less  ;  freedom  exists  or  it  does  not ;  and  it 


356  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

is  obvious  that  the  liberty  of  a  rational  being  consists  precisely 
in  the  free  use  of  the  faculties  inherent  in  his  nature,  and  of 
all  his  faculties  or  powers,  without  exception  or  extravagance. 
This  is  only  saying  that  freedom  in  the  lowest  grade  of  spirit- 
ual existence,  as  in  the  highest,  is  strength ;  that  a  mental 
power  is  not  a  power  except  so  far  as  it  is  independent. 
Man,  renovated  by  divine  truth,  is  made  free  in  his  part  of  the 
finite,  as  God  is  in  the  infinite  ;  that  is,  he  acts  in  his  quality 
of  man  with  the  same  independence  that  God  acts  as  God. 
It  is  the  redeeming  power,  given  to  the  world  in  Christ,  that 
impels  humanity  both  highest  and  farthest ;  the  only  spur 
which  can  arouse  our  dormant  energies,  and  excite  them  to  the 
most  beneficent  action.  Mental  freedom  is  the  only  true  free- 
dom, the  foundation  of  all  other  liberty,  without  which  an 
immortal  creature  is  a  degraded  slave,  and  not  the  less  a  vassal 
because  his  chains  may  chance  to  be  made  of  gold. 

"  For -what  is  freedom  but  the  unfettered  use 
Of  all  the  powers  which  God  for  use  hath  given? " 

Intellectual  conception  and  moral  appreciation  are  two  attri- 
butes the  grandest  of  human  nature,  the  germs  of  which  are 
lodged  in  every  bosom.  The  intellectual  power  of  man  proves 
that  there  must  be  an  object  suitable  for  its  exercise  and 
demanding  its  study.  This  object  is  truth,  the  knowledge  of 
something  real,  and  consists  in  the  exact  understanding  of  the 
highest  realities  that  exist.  This  is  the  grand  boon  proffered 
to  us  here  and  in  a  more  exalted  life.  "  Then  shall  I  know,1' 
says  Paul,  "  even  as  also  I  am  known ; "  that  is  to  say, 
thoroughly.  The  apostle  does  not,  in  this  instance,  speak  with 
respect  to  himself  alone.  He  had  just  said,  "  Now  we  see 
through  a  glass,  darkly;"  and,  by  a  lively  change  of  phrase, 
familiar  to  his  style,  he  suddenly  passes  to  the  first  person,  and 
says,  "  I  shall  know,"  which  is  equivalent  to  we  shall  know. 
The  force  of  the  idea  expressed  in  this  sentence  rests  on  the 
point  of  comparison,  on  the  sense  of  the  particle  as.  It  is 
evident  that,  of  the  two  principal  significations  of  this  word  in 


CHRISTIANITY   THE    FORTIFIER    OF    THE    WEAK.  357 

the  Greek  of  the  New  Testament,  viz.,  as  much  as,  and  in  the 
same  manner  as,  the  last  mentioned  alone  can  be  the  one 
employed  in  this  passage.  The  glorious  hope  which  Paul 
expresses  is,  therefore,  that  the  knowledge  of  immortality  will 
embrace,  not  the  appearances  only,  the  mere  outward  mani- 
festations of  the  divine  laws  and  creations,  but  their  perfect 
truth  and  infinite  reality. 

The  moral  faculty  of  man  proves  the  existence  of  a  law,  by 
which  each  will  should  be  governed,  and  to  which  all  should 
have  access.  "  Sin  is  the  transgression  of  the  law."  "  Where 
no  law  is,  there  is  no  transgression."  Thus  man  is  never 
without  a  moral  law ;  for  when  he  does  not  receive  one  from 
God  he  makes  one  to  himself.  But  all  history,  sacred  and  pro- 
fane, proves  how  difficult  it  is  for  man  to  discover,  by  his  own 
unaided  powers,  the  true  law  of  progress,  the  basis  of  genuine 
morality,  real  justice  and  goodness  divine.  The  reason  of  this 
difficulty  is,  that  the  mission  of  conscience  is  much  more  to 
apply  itself  to  the  law  which  it  finds  in  force,  than  to  discover 
or  confer  this  law.  Hence  it  often  applies  the  rule  without 
first  comprehending  it,  and  the  benighted  man  conscientiously 
executes  the  most  evil  deeds.  These  are  our  fellow-creatures 
who  suffer  the  greatest  wrongs  ;  and  for  us,  as  the  professed 
followers  of  Christ,  to  withdraw  from  them  our  sympathies  and 
deny  them  his  holy  word,  is  at  once  to  proclaim  our  own 
hypocrisy  and  seal  their  doom. 

Truth  of  the  highest  and  purest  form,  the  object  given  for 
the  rescue  and  exaltation  of  our  intellectual  powers,  is  the 
same  in  all  worlds  ;  it  is  what  God  thinks,  and  is  what  we  with 
the  greatest  avidity  should  strive  to  possess  and  distribute,  since 
what  occupies  his  thoughts  ought  to  occupy  those  of  all  his 
creatures,  according  to  the  graduated  capacities  of  each  and 
the  mutual  welfare  of  all.  The  object  given  to  ennoble  and 
eternally  bless  our  moral  powers,  is  holiness ;  and  this,  too,  is 
the  same  in  all  worlds:  it  is  what  God  wills;  and  as  what  satis- 
fies his  will  is  most  happily  adapted  to  satisfy  that  of  all  his 
creatures,  according  to  the  measure  of  sensibility  and  moral 


358  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

excellence  in  each,  to  distribute  instrumentally  the  word  that 
enlightens  and  the  spirit  that  saves  the  soul  of  the  poorest  and 
meanest  child  of  Adam,  is  to  do  that  which  confers  the  greatest 
happiness  and  reflects  most  honor  upon  the  sons  of  God. 

We  are  not  to  covet  for  ourselves,  nor  inculcate  upon  others, 
that  demoniac  spirit  which  springs  from  wrong  and  leads  to 
wrong,  but  the  sacred  liberty  which  dwells  with  justice,  and 
wages  a  conflict  both  mighty  and  perpetual  against  every  form 
of  oppression.  It  is  that  merciful  and  yet  resolute  spirit  which 
to  the  last  gasp  of  existence  resists  the  arrogance  of  despots, 
and  when  its  warring  energies  are  spent,  so  that  inevitable 
dissolution"  impends,  it  will,  like  the  father  of  Hannibal,  take 
the  offspring  it  has  produced  to  the  altar  of  its  adoration  and 
swear  them  to  eternal  hostility  against  all  the  invaders  of 
private  rights  and  a  public  prosperity.     This  is 

"  A  liberty,  which  persecution,  fraud, 
Oppression,  prisons,  have  no  power  to  bind ; 
Which  whoso  tastes  can  be  enslaved  no  more  : 
'Tis  liberty  of  heart,  derived  from  Heaven, 
Bought  with  His  blood,  who  gave  it  to  mankind, 
And  sealed  with  the  same  token.     It  is  held 
By  charter,  and  that  charter  sanctioned  sure 
By  the  unimpeachable  and  awful  oath 
And  promise  of  a  God." 

Thirdly,  Christianity,  which  was  so  fiercely  persecuted  when 
most  weak,  and  which  therefore  sympathizes  with  the  suffer- 
ing when  most  wronged,  ever  fortifies  the  confiding  with 
invincible  strength.  This  grand  truth  is  inherent  in  it  as  the 
doctrine  of  Christ,  and  is  its  crowning  glory  as  the  manifesta- 
tion of  his  spirit  and  life.  A  just  discrimination  recognizes  this 
difference  between  the  science  of  religion  and  its  practice.  For 
analytical  examination  and  popular  communication,  it  is  neces- 
sary to  reduce  Christianity  to  the  form  of  doctrine ;  but  for  all 
practical  purposes,  in  its  highest  influence  on  individuals  and 
nations,  it  is  animated  with  a  more  efficacious  life,  and  always 
exemplifies  itself  under  the  triune  majesty  of  essence,  life,  and 


CHRISTIANITY   THE    FORTIFIER    OF   THE    WEAK.  359 

action.  The  relation  Christ  assumed  towards  fallen  man  ;  the 
position  in  which  he  placed  mankind  with  reference  to  God  ; 
his  own  teachings  and  example,  together  with  the  declarations 
of  the  apostles  to  him,  his  person,  and  work,  —  these  constitute 
Christian  doctrine,  from  the  highest  point  of  which,  if  we  would 
obtain  a  perfect  view,  we  must  pass  to  the  manifestation  of 
Christ  as  the  exemplar  of  a  newer,  higher,  and  more  perfect 
religious  life.  The  essential  substance  of  Christianity  is  the 
illustrated  character  of  its  Author,  spoken  to  all  the  world,  and 
developed  in  all  his  existence  here  below.  Only  as  life  is 
Christianity  the  light  of  the  world  ;  which  position  is  based  on 
the  fact  that  Christ  does  not  say,  My  doctrine  is  the  truth, 
but,  "I  am  the  truth,"  adding  immediately  that  he  also  is  "  the 
life."  Christianity  is  not  all  faith,  neither  is  it  all  morality,  but 
a  perfect  combination  of  faith,  love,  and  moral  authority,  form- 
ing true  religion  as  its  aggregate,  from  which  harmonious 
whole  the  several  components  can  as  little  be  separated  "  as 
the  light  of  the  fire  from  its  warmth."  The  character  of  our 
Lord  can  never  be  thoroughly  understood,  if  we  regard  it  as 
consisting  wholly  either  in  outward  morality  or  in  hidden  piety  ; 
since  the  peculiarity  of  his  nature  lay  in  the  perfect  coalescence 
of  the  two  —  in  holiness;  a  life  from  and  in  God,  designed  in 
all  of  its  infinite  excellence  to  be  diffused  from  himself  into 
the  world.  It  was  this  exalted  capacity  and  unprecedented 
benevolence  that  made  Christ  to  be  something  more  than  merely 
a  great,  pure-minded  man  ;  he  possessed  a  superhuman,  world- 
swaying  and  world-pervading  influence,  which  no  pious  fiction 
could  invent,  and  which  could  proceed  only  from  real,  living, 
and  perfect  Divinity.  It  is  equally  clear  that  it  was  the  strong- 
est desire  of  Christ,  that  his  life  and  spirit  should  be  shared  by 
his  disciples;  that  this  life  should  be  perpetuated  in  them,  and 
become,  through  their  instrumentality,  the  light  and  life  of  all 
mankind.  This  is  most  distinctly  declared  in  the  gospel, 
especially  in  the  record  by  John.  Thus  Christ,  himself  glorified 
by  the  Father,  desires  to  be  glorified  again  in  his  disciples ; 
they  are  commanded  to  partake  of  his  flesh  and  blood,  that 


360 


REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 


thereby  they  may  receive  his  life  ;  "  that  they  all  may  be 
one,  as  thou,  Father,  art  in  me,  and  I  in  thee,  that  they  also 
may  be  one  in  us ; "  and  again,  "  I  in  them  and  thou  in  me, 
that  they  may  be  made  perfect  in  one  ;  and  that  the  world 
may  know  that  thou  hast  sent  me,  and  that  thou  lovest  them, 
even  as  thou  lovest  me."  All  which  is  God's  is  Christ's,  and 
this  divine  fulness  he  will  impart  to  his  followers  ;  or,  as 
Paul  expresses  the  same  idea  in  an  inverted  form,  "All  is 
yours,  and  ye  are  Christ's,  and  Christ  is  God's."  This  is  not 
a  creed,  but  Christianity,  the  absolute  religion  that  came  down 
from  heaven,  to  be  incarnated  in  life  and  action  on  earth,  to 
be  inculcated  in  the  simplest  forms,  and  eventually  to  reign 
the  supreme  and  salutary  faith  of  all  mankind.  Having  con- 
quered every  foe  otherwise  invincible,  and  having  ascended  to 
the  throne  of  the  universe,  thence  to  bestow  on  all  believers 
every  resource  they  can  need,  Christ  says  to  each,  I  will  give 
the  power  of  soul  unbound  and  purified, 

"To  crown  thy  life  with,  liberty  and  joy, 
And  make  thee  free  and  mighty  as  I  am." 

Our  holy  religion  never  throws  her  choice  gifts  into  the  lap  of 
luxurious  ease  and  selfishness,  but  creates  strength  in  the  strong, 
purity  in  the  pure,  and  wreaths  a  glorious  garland  round  the  brow 
of  true  heroism,  as,  glad,  radiant,  and  undaunted,  it  bounds  on- 
ward ceaselessly  to  vanquish  every  oppressor  and  mitigate  every 
wrong.  It  is  not  truth  smothered  in  musty  formulas,  and  faith 
having  no  more  stable  foundation  than  the  idle  dreams  of  a  list- 
less brain  ;  but  the  religion  of  Christ,  more  than  any  other  influ- 
ence, deepens  and  fortifies  in  the  bosoms  of  its  adherents  ven- 
eration for  duty,  confirms  the  most  sacred  convictions  of  right, 
arms  with  a  power  of  execution  equal  to  the  most  heroic 
resolves,  kindles  martyr  aspirations,  and  urges  their  possessors 
not  to  live  for  their  own  puny  personalities,  but  to  offer  these 
and  every  thing  dearest  and  best  on  the  sublime  altar  of  pro- 
gressive Humanity.  Before  this  substantial  zeal,  magnani- 
mous spirit,  and  luminous  enthusiasm,  all  empty  theories  and 


CHRISTIANITY    THE    FORTIFIER    OF    THE    WEAK.  361 

crafty  schemes  dissolve  and  disappear  like  morning  mists 
before  the  god  of  day,  as  he  rises  to  shine  on  the  diffusive  and 
resistless  redemptions  which  spring  in  rapid  developments 
round  the  cross  of  Christ,  to  bless  all  the  earth. 

Every  man  is  good  in  proportion  as  he  manifests  the  spirit 
of  love,  and  great  in  proportion  as  he  manifests  the  spirit  of 
self-sacrifice.  True  religion  is  something  more  genial  and 
vitalizing  than  "the  patient  brilliance  of  the  moon,"  and  is 
adorned  with  a  beauty  still  more  beauteous.  It  is  a  power, 
secret,  sweet,  precious,  and  profound,  lending  the  soul  swifter 
wings  to  fly,  and  always  guiding  its  career  to  the  most  practi- 
cal and  most  profitable  results.  The  greatest  works  of  mind 
or  hand  have  always  been  executed  in  behalf  of  the  largest 
masses  of  men  and  the  highest  glory  of  God.  This  follows, 
because  divine  truth  qualifies  its  possessor  to  break  spears 
with  the  brave  till  he  quells  all,  enlighten  the  ignorant  till  he 
has  reformed  all,  and  ereate  monuments  of  science,  art,  and 
religion,  which,  like  the  spirit  that  inspired  them,  shall  purify 
the  tastes,  enlarge  the  intellects,  and  ennoble  the  aspirations  of 
all  who,  at  the  most  open  and  unobstructed  shrines,  learn  to 
gaze  and  admire.  The  spirit  of  all  goodness  and  greatness 
is  prompt  to  minister  to  the  wants  of  the  most  needy,  pro- 
mote the  welfare  of  society  at  large,  aid  the  changes  which 
obviously  tend  to  raise  man  to  a  higher  order  of  civilization, 
and  in  every  lawful  way  to  impel  the  moral  progress  of  the 
world.  It  takes  the  feeblest  of  our  race,  and,  leading  him  to 
the  summit  of  each  mountain,  thought  says  to  him  there, — 

"  Worship  thou  God ;  for  Deity  is  seen 
From  every  elevation  of  the  soul. 
Study  the  Light ;  attempt  the  high ;  seek  out 
The  soul's  bright  path ;  and  since  the  soul  is  fire 
Of  heat  intelligential,  turn  it  aye 
To  the  all-Father,  source  of  light  and  life." 

It  is  under  the  tuition  of  such  sympathies  and  such  wisdom, 
that  the  pupil  of  the  skies,  and  predestined  benefactor  of  our 
globe,  early  learns  to  partake,  in  glad  and  vigorous  fruition,  of 
31 


362  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

the  Tree  of  Life,  of  which  the  loftiest  stars  are  fruit,  and  the 
lightest  leaf  the  food  of  still  loftier  power.  The  partaker  thereof 
is  increasingly  conscious  of  firmer  courage  joined  to  purer 
affection  within  himself,  and  is  willing  to  give  all  or  renounce 
all  things  else,  at  any  risk,  and  in  view  of  any  pain,  rather  than 
witness  suffering  which  an  effort  of  his  own  might,  in  some 
measure  at  least,  remove ;  and  in  proportion  as  his  life  is 
moulded  by  this  law,  sinking  his  own  personal  advantages  and 
enjoyments  in  the  higher  destinies  of  our  race,  he  becomes 
truly  great,  —  great  with  a  grandeur  kindred  to  that  of  God. 
His  greatness  is  hewn  from  that  mount  of  light  whereon  the 
throne  of  heaven's  eternal  love  is  built,  and,  while  obeyingly 
he  bears  the  cross  close  in  the  footsteps  of  Christ,  always 
ascending  toward  the  highest  bliss,  every  act  he  performs  is 
a  monument  of  beneficence  fitted  to  animate  and  sustain  fellow- 
disciples,  and  every  breath  of  his  lips  is  the  inspiration  of  in- 
vincible strength  in  every  panting  soul.  Such  heroes  reproduce 
and  multiply  themselves  perpetually.  Eveiy  great  result  that 
has  been  achieved  for  the  promotion  of  human  weal,  has  had 
for  its  doer  some  solitary  redeemer,  one  thrust  forth  from  the 
sweet  charities  of  social  bliss,  from  the  comforts  and  enjoy- 
ments to  which  generous  hearts  cling  most  tenderly,  and,  by 
personal  experience  the  most  bitter  and  lonely,  is  trained  to 
win  for  others,  like  conditioned,  blessings  the  most  exquisite, 
exalted,  and  general.  Their  example  stands  out  cheeringly 
before  all  successors,  teaching  them  that  the  best  powers  are 
multiplied  and  strengthened  in  a  marvellous  degree  the  mo- 
ment we,  with  stern  resolve,  throw  ourselves  on  our  own  per- 
sonal prowess  and  persevering  endeavors.  Such  men  are 
always  the  revolutionizers  of  the  world,  and  conquer  with  a 
greater,  more  beneficent,  more  enduring  potency,  than  the 
sword's  edge  or  cannon's  roar.  Yet  how  unseen  are  their  best 
energies  fortified,  how  unostentatiously  they  enter  upon  their 
mission,  how  divine  is  the  wide  influence  they  exert,  and  how 
sublimely  they  ascend  to  the  glories  of  heaven  !  They  move 
through  the  world  with  a  heart  full  of  hardihood,  benevolence, 


CHRISTIANITY    THE    FORTIFIER    OF    THE    WEAK.  363 

and  power,  fanning  the  hot  brow  of  mental  anguish,  and  sooth- 
ing the  pangs  of  secret  suffering,  with  sympathies  balmy  and 
grateful  as  evening  zephyrs,  singing  the  sun  to  repose,  as 
down  "  he  lays  his  head  of  glory  on  the  rocking  deep.'"  Such 
benefactors  of  mankind  burst  away  from  all  puny  restraints, 
grasp  and  communicate  the  most  comprehensive  as  well  as 
important  truths,  and  form  the  grand  brotherhood  throughout 
the  world,  who  in  all  lands  and  ranks  are  working  for  the 
redemption  and  improvement  of  man,  obeying  no  other  law  of 
duty  than  that  of  making  the  universe,  material  and  spiritual, 
an  increasingly  glad  and  glorious  revelation  to  the  heart  and 
intellect  of  all  our  race.  It  is  their  privilege  and  glorious 
reward,  in  common  with  the  great  Redeemer  himself,  to  sym- 
pathize with  all  the  suffering  in  their  deepest  wrongs,  and 
fortify  the  feeblest  endowments  of  rational  existence 

"  "With  strength,  like  that  which  lifts  an  eagle's  wing 
Where  the  stars  dazzle,  and  the  angels  sing." 

All  that  man  can  be,  this  side  of  the  grave  or  beyond,  he 
becomes  by  the  free  use  of  his  own  faculties ;  by  the  strength 
he  attains  while  emulating  the  strongest,  by  the  purity  he  wins 
through  admiration  of  the  purest,  and  by  the  direction  he  im- 
parts to  these  attributes  in  himself.  His  freedom  and  power 
are  correlative,  exactly  proportioned  to  each  other.  The  in- 
fluence of  Christianity  is  most  salutary  in  a  temporal,  as  well 
as  eternal  point  of  view ;  it  is  not  a  frigid  semblance  of  useful- 
ness, like  a  burning-glass  of  ice,  but  a  powerful  lens  pouring 
the  converged  beams  of  universal  truth  upon  the  brain  and 
heart.  It  is  to  the  mental  and  moral  world  what  aggressive 
civilization  is  to  the  natural,  —  it  tends  to  dispel  the  vapor  and 
dislodge  the  frost,  by  felling  tangled  forests,  draining  fetid 
marshes,  and  cultivating  unproductive  wastes,  so  that  coming 
generations  may  breathe,  without  effort,  the  purified  air,  and 
enjoy  without  peril  a  chastened  climate  and  the  richest  har- 
vests. Its  holy  flames  purify  the  temple  they  burn  in,  emanci- 
pate the  intellect,  regulate  the  passions,  and  exalt  the  soul.     It 


364  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

is  necessary  that  the  heart  should  first  find  repose,  that  the 
mind  may  be  active  and  useful  in  the  greatest  degree.  The 
disciples  of  Christ  became  such  at  the  moment  they  obtained 
this  rest;  and  in  proportion  to  its  measure  and  permanency, 
they  were  emancipated  from  the  worst  bonds,  and  remain  in- 
dependent in  proportion  as  they  are  penetrated  by  the  splendor 
and  beneficence  of  God.  Under  the  guidance  of  this  spirit, 
and  upborne  by  its  power,  even  while  the  body  stands  heavy 
and  solid  on  earth,  as  a  deserted  tomb,  the  free  soul  wanders 
from  star  to  star  in  quest  of  that  fountain  of  unbounded  wis- 
dom and  life,  which  excursions  are  at  once  the  sublimest 
luxury  and  the  foretaste  of  eternal  joy.  Catching  a  dim 
glimpse  of  this,  Jamblicus  said,  "  There  is  a  principle  of  the 
soul  superior  to  all  external  nature  ;  and  through  this  principle 
we  are  capable  of  surpassing  the  order  and  systems  of  the 
world,  and  participating  the  immortal  life  and  the  energy  of 
the  sublime  celestials.  When  the  soul  is  elevated  to  natures 
above  itself,  it  deserts  the  order  to  which  it  is  a  while  com- 
pelled ,  and,  by  a  religious  magnetism,  is  attracted  to  another 
and  a  loftier,  with  which  it  blends  and  mingles."  It  is  not 
pagan  philosophy,  however,  that  can  thus  inspire  and  invigorate 
the  believer;  it  is  religion,  the  cross  of  Christ,  that  raises 
patience  first  into  a  fortifying  virtue,  and  then  into  undying 
hope.  It  is  through  the  ceaseless  throes  and  invincible  strug- 
gles thus  sustained,  that  penury  wins  sustenance,  and  whole  na- 
tions of  the  enslaved  attain  the  blessings  of  freedom  which  to  all 
mankind  belong.  On  this  point  Bishop  Taylor  well  says,  "  The 
will  is  in  love  with  those  chains  which  draw  us  to  God.  And 
as  no  man  will  complain  that  his  temples  are  restrained,  and 
his  head  is  prisoner,  when  it  is  encircled  with  a  crown,  so, 
when  '  the  Son  of  God  hath  made  us  free/  and  hath  only  sub- 
jected us  to  the  service  and  dominion  of  the  Spirit,  we  are  free 
as  princes  within  the  circle  of  their  diadem ;  and  our  chains 
are  bracelets,  and  the  law  is  a  law  of  liberty,  and  4  God's  ser- 
vice is  perfect  freedom ; '  and  the  more  we  are  subjects,  the 
more  we  '  reign  as  kings ; '  and  the  farther  we  run,  the  easier 


CHRISTIANITY    THE    FORTIFIER    OF    THE    WEAK.  365 

is  our  burden ;  and  Christ's  yoke  is  like  feathers  to  a  bird,  not 
loads,  but  help  to  motion ;  without  them  the  body  falls." 

The  faithful  disciple,  in  the  act  of  entire  consecration,  enters 
into  perfect  rest,  and  thenceforth,  unimpeded  by  crippling 
doubts,  devotes  all  his  energies  to  the  promotion  of  the  Re- 
deemer's kingdom.  The  wisdom  which  in  this  school  is 
attained,  and  the  strength  which  in  this  service  is  employed,  are 
the  most  exalted  in  their  character,  and  the  most  divine  in  their 
results.  Says  one  of  the  deepest  thinkers  of  modern  times, 
"  No  man  can  have  been  conversant  with  the  volumes  of 
religious  biography  — can  have  perused,  for  instance,  the  lives 
of  WicklifFe,  Cranmer,  Ridley,  Latimer,  Wishart,  Sir  Thomas 
More,  Bernard  Gilpin,  Bishop  Bedell,  or  of  Egede,  Svvartz, 
and  the  missionaries  of  the  frozen  world,  without  an  occasional 
conviction  that  these  men  lived  under  extraordinary  influences, 
that  in  each  instance,  and  in  all  ages  of  the  Christian  era,  bear 
the  same  characters,  and,  both  in  the  accompaniments  and 
results,  evidently  refer  to  a  common  origin."  That  origin,  we 
scarcely  need  add,  is  the  pure  spirit  of  primitive  Christianity, 
whose  glories  will  remain  forever  resplendent,  when  the  meteors 
of  science  shall  have  fallen  from  the  sky,  and  unsanctified  genius 
withered  like  a  flower  in  the  icy  charnePs  breath.  Much  of 
the  reward  which  conscious  worth  every  where  enjoys,  comes 
to  the  soul  simultaneously  with  the  performance  of  its  beneficent 
acts ;  but  the  fulness  of  its  high  fruition  remains  to  be  unfolded 
with  the  bursting  glories  of  that  eternity  which  commences 
from  the  grave.  The  spirit  of  Christ  is  the  most  active  life, 
continually  evoked  from  kingdom  to  kingdom,  and  increasingly 
illumined  as  it  unceasingly  ascends.  It  sustains,  from  the 
profoundest  depths,  the  beings  it  emancipates,  and  arms  them 
with  invincible  strength,  by  imbuing  them  thoroughly  with  the 
genius  of  heavenly  liberty  which  created  and  made  them  free. 
If  the  sage  of  this  world  is  to  be  pronounced  blessed,  whose 
heart  is  the  home  of  the  great  dead,  and  their  great  thoughts, 
how  much  more  desirable  is  the  condition  and  destiny  of  him 
whose  soul  is  the  temple  of  divinity  itself,  and  who,  by  virtue 
31* 


366  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

of  this  possession  and  the  deeds  it  has  inspired,  soars  with  un- 
speakable rapture,  through  immensity,  toward  that  palace  of 
the  Eternal,  of  which  our  sun  is  but  a  porch-lamp. 

We  have  seen  that  the  inspiration  which  fortifies  the  con- 
fiding with  invincible  strength,  which  impels  to  the  sternest 
conflicts,  and  secures  the  highest  reward,  is  truth  ;  the  very 
essence  of  omnipotence,  the  breath  of  vital  energy  in  the 
nostrils  of  the  brave  and  good,  which,  as  it  inspires  the  nobly 
endowed,  when  all  outward  circumstances  are  dark  and  deso- 
late, so,  by  its  absence,  is  sufficient  to  countervail  the  most 
splendid  advantages  of  rank  or  fortune.  It  is  this  that  creates 
the  true  prophets  of  every  age,  the  mighty  teachers  and  doers 
who  startle  the  stupid  with  profound  and  stimulating  thought, 
rouse  the  injured  to  a  horror  at  their  wrongs,  and  inspire  the 
love  and  practice  of  virtue,  by  the  stern  and  zealous  reitera- 
tion of  those  great  moral  principles,  which  are  as  old  as  man 
himself,  which  are  the  basis  of  all  that  is  noble  in  his  nature, 
and  enduring  as  the  bright  deeds  he  was  made  to  achieve. 

This  omnipotence  and  ineffable  glory  of  truth  is  vouch- 
safed to  man  only  for  the  purpose  of  promoting  practical 
godliness.  All  its  emanations  are  infinitely  superior  to  the 
inertness  of  mere  dogmas,  since  they  are  designed  to  make 
man  both  politically  energetic  and  morally  regenerative. 
Truth,  in  its  widest  development  and  noblest  exercise,  tends 
always  to  social  regeneration,  and  bequeaths  to  posterity 
expanded  conceptions  of  a  holier  gladness,  and  salvation  more 
comprehensive  and  complete.  It  is  truth  to  be  proclaimed, 
not  simply  as  theological  doctrine,  but  a  mighty  and  saving 
revelation,  a  celestial  fact  free  for  all,  which  ought  to  inter- 
fuse every  thought  we  think,  adorn  every  deed  we  do,  and 
be  allowed  unobstructedly  to  grow,  less  as  a  mere  luxury  of 
the  intellect,  than  the  mightiest  passion  of  the  heart.  It  is  the 
spirit  of  wisdom  and  holiness,  prompting  its  subject  to  be  a 
man  as  God  originally  created  him,  and  as,  in  Christ  Jesus, 
he  may  be  formed  anew.  Hence  will  he  devoutly  strive  to 
appropriate,  in  his  own  being,  the  good,  the  beautiful,  and 


CHRISTIANITY    THE    DELIVERER    OF    THE    OPPRESSED.      367 

the  true,  from  all  the  universe  around,  seeing  God  in  every- 
thing, and  blessing  the  creatures  of  God  every  where,  that  in 
this  perpetual  devotion  to  the  highest  aims,  and  approximation 
to  the  functions  of  Divinity  itself,  he  may,  in  the  noblest  sense, 
become  divine.  All  who  have  really  partaken  of  this  spirit  of 
Christ's  truth,  and  are  truly  his  soldiers,  demonstrate  the  truth- 
fulness and  grandeur  of  their  calling  by  being  always  found  on 
the  outward  frontiers  of  civilization,  carrying  light  to  the  be- 
nighted, strength  to  the  feeble,  salvation  to  the  lost.  They  are 
the  beloved  offspring  of  that  Christianity  which  was  fiercely 
persecuted  when  most  weak,  which  sympathizes  with  the  suf- 
fering when  most  wronged,  and  forever  fortifies  the  confiding 
with  invincible  strength. 

"  For  souls 

Re-made  of  God,  and  moulded  over  again 

Into  his  sunlike  emblems,  multiply 

His  might  and  love  :  the  saved  are  suns,  not  earths, 

And  with  original  glory  shine  of  God." 


CHAPTER    IV. 

CHRISTIANITY     THE      DELIVERER     OF     THE 
OPPRESSED. 

The  subject  for  our  present  consideration  is  of  the  greatest 
interest  and  importance.  With  the  wisest  possible  blending  of 
firmness  and  magnanimity,  that  just  discrimination  and  equita- 
ble judgment  which  are  obtained  only  in  answer  to  humble 
prayer,  let  us  proceed  at  once  to  the  discussion.  The  following 
are  our  general  points :  Christianity  was  given  to  subdue  the 
most  ungenerous  foes,  is  most  merciful  towards  those  who  suffer 
the  greatest  abuse,  and  inspires  ceaseless  rebellion  against 
every  species  of  ungodly  bonds. 


368  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

In  the  first  place,  to  subdue  foes  at  once  the  most  ungener- 
ous and  unyielding  was  the  primary  task  of  Christianity,  and, 
to  the  end  of  spiritual  warfare,  will  ever  constitute  its  highest 
mission.  The  substance  of  Christ's  doctrine  and  the  grand  aim 
of  his  life  was  in  the  highest  degree  emancipative,  and  most 
happily  adapted  to  the  diversified  wants  of  mankind.  He 
labored  to  abolish  every  pernicious  superstition,  destroy  all 
forms  of  degrading  unbelief,  break  every  oppressive  bond,  and 
eradicate  the  skepticism  of  the  leading  men  of  his  age,  which 
openly  denied,  or  industriously  subverted,  the  foundation  of 
morality  itself.  He  represented  God  under  the  true  light,  that 
of  a  purely  moral  character,  and  portrayed  him  palpably  to  the 
common  heart  and  eye  as  the  supreme  Father,  loving  and  edu- 
cating all  the  rational  creatures  he  has  formed.  "The  conse- 
quences that  flow  from  this  fundamental  view  are  also  moral. 
A  man  cannot  honor  this  supreme  Father  by  ceremonies  and 
external  exercises,  but  only  by  doing  his  will  and  endeavoring 
to  become  like  him.  With  a  religious  truth  that  represents 
God  as  the  supreme  Father,  no  moral  truths  can  be  connected 
but  such  as  reduce  every  thing  back  to  love.  The  practical 
part  of  what  Jesus  taught,  therefore,  had  the  great  excellency 
of  containing  principles  not  only  benevolent,  but  pure,  noble, 
and  exalted,  every  where  applicable,  and  adapted  to  human 
nature.  He  who  loves  God  and  man  according  to  the  precepts 
of  Jesus,  is  a  most  willing,  punctual,  and  disinterested  per- 
former of  all  his  duties ;  a  most  active  promoter  of  all  that  is 
true,  beautiful,  and  good  ;  a  most  faithful  and  useful  citizen  of 
the  state  to  which  he  belongs ;  a  most  sympathizing  and  benev- 
olent friend  of  man  ;  and,  in  all  the  relations  which  he  sustains, 
whatever  they  are  called,  the  author  of  innumerable  blessings. 
Nor  did  the  external  part  of  the  religion  which  Jesus  intended 
to  bring  into  vogue,  have  any  other  object  in  view  than  strength- 
ening its  moral  power  and  sustaining  its  activity.  In  order  to 
preserve  a  lasting  consciousness  of  their  high  calling  and  their 
destination  in  respect  to  moral  attainments,  and  to  be  perfect  as 
their  Father  in  heaven  is  perfect,  his  followers  were  to  meet 


CHRISTIANITY   THE   DELIVERER    OF   THE    OPPRESSED.      369 

together  and  unite  as  a  body  in  pious  exercises ;  the  object  of 
these  meetings  was  to  be  their  advancement  in  virtue  and  reli- 
gious improvement.  And  for  what  other  purpose,  than  as  the 
means  of  moral  improvement,  did  Jesus  institute  his  two  sacred 
rites  ?  The  one  was  to  make  it  evident,  that  as  soon  as  a  man 
becomes  a  Christian,  he  takes  upon  himself  an  obligation  to 
practise  the  purest  and  most  immaculate  virtue  ;  the  other  was 
to  admonish  him  of  this  with  reference  to  his  approximating 
nearer  to  the  pattern  of  all  human  virtue  in  the  performance 
of  his  duties.  The  religion,  therefore,  which  Jesus  destined  to 
become  that  of  the  human  race,  was,  in  all  its  parts,  a  moral 
religion." 

Moreover,  the  doctrines  and  spirit  which  Christ  planted  in  the 
world  were  as  heroical  as  they  were  moral.  Nothing  is  more 
erroneous  than  the  supposition  that  Christianity  regards  indig- 
nant bravery  and  heroical  resistance  as  vices ;  that,  instead  of 
their  exercise  on  just  occasions,  it  legitimately  transforms  man 
into  a  defenceless  and  passive  creature,  which  chooses  to  en- 
dure outrageous  wrongs  rather  than  defend  natural  rights.  It 
is  true  that  the  religion  taught  by  Jesus  was  adapted  to  dimin- 
ish the  causes  of  war,  prevent  aggressions  upon  all  sorts  of 
freedom,  awaken  in  every  soul  the  acutest  perception  of  what 
is  right,  and  thus  gradually  produce  universal  peace  upon  earth. 
"  It  is  equally  certain,"  says  Reinhard,  "  that  the  commandment 
enjoining  love,  which  is  the  soul  of  all  the  precepts  of  Chris- 
tianity, forbids  no  man  from  bravely  opposing  unjust  oppres- 
sors, and  maintaining  his  rights  by  force,  so  long  as  that  uni- 
versal peace  does  not  prevail,  and  cruel  disturbers  of  public 
security  and  repose,  and  unjust  aggressors,  are  every  where  to 
be  found.  It  is  not  the  business  even  of  that  love  whose  efforts 
are  directed  entirely  to  the  promotion  of  the  general  good 
magnanimously  to  offer  itself  in  sacrifice,  as  soon  as  this  gen- 
eral weal  is  in  danger  ?  Can  he  whom  it  animates  remain  idle 
when  the  society  of  which  he  is  a  member  is  assailed  and 
threatened  with  danger  ?  Will  he  not,  on  the  other  hand, 
select,  and  be  obliged  to  select,  the  only  way  left  him,  in  this 


37a 


REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 


case,  for  exhibiting  his  love,  namely,  by  laying  down  his  life 
for  the  brethren  ?  1  John  iii.  16.  Besides,  is  there  not  every 
thing  to  be  met  with  in  the  soul  of  a  genuine  Christian,  from 
which  real  bravery  and  rational  heroism  may  spring  in  as  good 
'  if  not  a  better  degree  than  others  ?  Is  bravery  grounded  upon 
natural  courage,  a  certain  innate  intrepidity  ?  Christianity  does 
not  suppress  this  quality,  but  only  hinders  it  from  degenerating 
into  savageness  and  temerity.  Is  genuine  bravery  accompanied 
with  a  contempt  of  all  effeminacy,  with  diligence,  and  temper- 
ance ?  Christianity  inculcates  these  virtues  as  indispensable 
duties.  Is  bravery,  without  a  desire  of  honor,  impossible  ? 
No  one  can  possess  a  livelier  and  more  tender  sense  of  honor 
than  the  Christian.  Does  bravery  draw  its  nourishment  in  a 
particular  manner  from  genuine  patriotism  ?  The  patriotism 
produced  by  Christianity  is  the  noblest  and  most  zealous  that 
can  exist.  Finally,  are  confidence  in  God  and  a  belief  in 
immortality  able  to  contribute  any  thing  toward  strengthening 
courage  in  danger  and  rendering  men  intrepid  ?  Then  no  one 
has  less  to  fear  than  the  Christian.  A  religion  which,  with  the 
tenderest  love,  combines  such  an  aversion  to  all  injustice,  and 
so  much  to  encourage  in  the  hour  of  danger,  cannot  be  preju- 
dicial to  genuine  bravery,  but  will  merely  hinder  it  from  de- 
generating into  savage  barbarity  and  inhuman  cruelty.  If, 
therefore,  Christianity  in  any  state  produces  in  only  a  part  of 
the  citizens  those  dispositions  and  feelings  which  its  Founder 
intended  it  should  produce,  even  then  the  state,  whatever  be  its 
regulations  in  other  respects,  manifestly  loses  nothing  thereby, 
but,  on  the  other  hand,  gains  infinitely  in  the  improvement  of 
its  subjects." 

The  true  nature  of  Christian  morality,  and  the  righteous 
heroism  which  moral  truth  was  designed  to  stimulate,  were 
most  clearly  unfolded  to  the  world  by  the  teachings  and  exam- 
ple of  Christ.  Soon  after  he  entered  upon  his  ministry,  he 
held  the  remarkable  conversation  with  a  Samaritan  woman,  in 
which  he  advanced  far  beyond  all  previous  instruction,  entirely 
laid  aside  the  Hebrew  phrase  the  kingdom  of  God,  and,  instead 


CHRISTIANITY   THE    DELIVERER   OF    THE    OPPRESSED.      371 

of  it,  spoke  of  the  worship  of  God  in  spirit  and  in  truth,  as 
then  about  to  be  introduced  into  all  parts  of  the  world,  without 
regard  to  the  distinctions  of  nation  and  country.  John  iv.  23, 
24.  Continues  Reinhard,  "  The  Jews  expected  of  the  Messiah 
the  restoration  of  their  freedom.  Jesus  promised  freedom,  but 
a  freedom  from  the  tyranny  of  vice,  to  be  obtained  by  the 
power  of  the  truth.  John  viii.  31 — 36.  Shortly  before  his 
death,  he  conversed  with  his  friends  respecting  the  great  work 
for  which  he  had  selected  them,  and  in  which  they  were  soon 
to  engage.  For  their  encouragement  and  support,  he  promised 
them  nothing  but  the  Spirit  of  truth.  This  was  not  only  to 
guide  them,  but  through  them  to  teach  and  reform  the  whole 
world.  John  xiv.  17,  26 ;  xv.  26 ;  xvi.  13.  Whatever  we 
understand  by  this  Spirit  of  truth,  we  must  admit  it  to  have 
been  given  to  the  apostles  to  prepare  them  for  the  moral  under- 
taking, the  accomplishment  of  which  had  been  intrusted  to 
their  hands.  I  have  already  observed  that,  in  the  presence  of 
Pilate,  Jesus  declared  his  kingdom  to  be  a  kingdom  of  truth, 
and  not  of  this  world,  nor  intended  to  injure  the  power  and 
authority  of  its  rulers  in  the  least  degree.  That  it  was  his 
intention  to  benefit  all  men  by  laboring  in  the  cause  of  moral- 
ity, is  a  position  fully  confirmed  by  the  fact  that  he  speaks  in 
express  terms  of  a  new  birth,  an  entire  reformation  and  reno- 
vation of  the  heart,  and,  in  the  most  direct  and  definite  man- 
ner, declares  his  intention  to  create  mankind  anew  and  make 
them  better.  In  Matt.  xix.  28,  he  calls  the  new  order  of  things 
which  he  had  in  contemplation  a  regeneration ;  and  that  this 
regeneration  was  not  to  be  a  political  change  nor  a  resuscitation 
of  the  old  national  constitution,  he  asserted  in  a  manner  worthy 
of  the  deepest  attention,  in  the  well-known  dialogue  which  he 
held  with  Nicodemus.  John  iii.  1,  et  seq.  He  told  the  aston- 
ished scribe,  with  the  dignity  of  an  ambassador  of  God,  who 
was  conscious  of  being  engaged  in  the  most  important  business, 
and  felt  his  appropriate  sphere  of  action  to  be  without  the 
bounds  of  the  corporeal  world,  (verses  11 — 13,)  that  a  man 
must  be   renovated   by   the   influences   of   a   better   religion 


372  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

before  he  could  be  admitted  into  the  kingdom  of  God,  (verse 
3 ;)  that  indolent  human  nature,  altogether  sunk  as  it  was  in 
sensuality,  must  experience  an  entirely  new  birth  in  order  to 
become  spirit,  and  awake  to  a  higher  moral  life,  (verses  4 — 6  ;) 
not  that  there  was  any  lack  of  spiritual  faculties,  for  they  were 
every  where  in  action,  but  that  they  were  destitute  of  the  proper 
direction.  He  told  Nicodemus  that  they  should  now  receive 
the  proper  direction  by  means  of  the  new  birth,  under  the 
influences  of  this  better  religion,  (verse  8 ;)  that  though  it 
would  cost  him  his  life  to  effect  this  great  and  universal  change, 
yet  his  death  should  result  in  the  salvation  of  all  mankind, 
(verse  14,)  for  that  he  came  to  make  all  happy  who  adhered 
to  him  and  were  willing  to  be  improved  ;  to  do  good  to  all 
mankind  without  exception,  (verses  15 — 17,)  and  hence  that 
none  should  remain  miserable  but  those  who  hated  the  truth, 
and,  out  of  a  love  to  vice,  rejected  it,  (verses  18 — 21.)  Jesus, 
therefore,  had  a  new  moral  creation  in  view.  His  object  was 
to  animate  all  mankind  with  better  life,  to  arouse,  direct,  and 
ennoble  their  spiritual  faculties,  and  exalt  the  human  race  to  a 
state  of  moral  dignity  and  happiness.  This  was  the  kingdom 
of  God  which  he  had  in  view,  —  the  important  work  which 
occupied  his  mind." 

Christianity  is  omnipotence  armed  against  all  perversions  of 
divine  truth,  and  all  invasions  of  human  rights  ;  blended  with 
infinite  justice,  it  wields  the  spiritual  sword  destined  never  to  be 
laid  aside  so  long  as  these  corruptions  and  tyrannies  endure. 
It  is  a  potency  which  enables  its  heroical  subjects  on  earth  to 
resist  the  pressure  of  wrong  and  the  storms  of  life  without 
timidity  or  defeat.  They  stand  on  a  sure  foundation,  having 
partaken  of  that  freedom  wherewith  Christ  makes  his  people 
free ;  and,  walking  in  his  footsteps,  they  rise  from  sin  to  re- 
pentance, from  repentance  to  faith,  from  faith  to  sanctification, 
from  sanctification  to  salvation,  a  lofty  height,  whence  they 
look  down  with  pity  upon  all  who  suffer,  and  with  avenging 
scorn  upon  tyranny  of  every  degree.  Each  good  soldier  of 
Christ  feels  that  he  has  been  fashioned  after  the  nature  and 


CHRISTIANITY    THE    DELIVERER    OF    THE    OPPRESSED.      373 

capacities  of  an  all-embracing,  creative,  and  loving  intelligence, 
a  rational  and  godlike  type  of  humanity,  to  exemplify  every 
virtue,  antagonize  against  every  vice,  and,  for  the  glory  of  the 
Creator,  as  well  as  the  welfare  of  all  immortal  creatures,  live 
and  die  a  moral  Spartacus  among  mankind. 

The  only  justification  which  tyranny  is  wont  to  plead  in 
extenuation  of  its  wrongs  is,  the  right  of  possession ;  "  I  have 
ruled,  therefore  I  rule  ;  I  have  exercised  this  power,  therefore 
I  exercise  it  still."     Thus  it  is 

"  The  queen  of  slaves, 
The  hoodwinked  angel  of  the  blind  and  dead, 
Custom,  with  iron  mace,  points  to  the  graves 
Where  her  black  standard  desolately  waves." 

But  Christ  unfurled  a  fairer  banner  to  the  world,  and  made 
innovation  upon  all  forms  of  established  iniquity,  all  ranks  of 
oppressive  men,  the  grand  feature  of  his  religion,  and  the  true 
glory  it  imparts  to  progressive  humanity  every  where.  Christ 
came  to  qualify  all  persons  to  govern  themselves,  and  to  bestow 
on  each  the  qualities  requisite  to  a  safe  and  beneficent  exercise 
of  this  high  prerogative.  True  republicanism  is  not  agrarian, 
but  Christian  ;  it  is  an  equal  division  of  rights,  not  of  property. 
It  creates  and  adorns  a  nobility  both  original  and  true,  "  the  Co- 
rinthian capital  of  society,"  in  the  highest  sense  ;  and  not  the 
pernicious  aristocracy  which  is  not  merely  itself  radically  cor- 
rupted, but  the  most  powerful  and  vile  agent  of  corruption. 
Such  are  the  hereditary  nobles,  whom  Burke  described  as 
being  "  swaddled,  and  rocked,  and  dandled  into  legislators;" 
the  mere  puppets  of  craft  and  power,  who,  by  the  inanimate 
possession  of  a  mere  casualty,  are  allowed  to  prescribe  laws 
of  a  most  fearful  influence  on  innumerable  beings  of  a  rational 
and  immortal  nature. 

The  right  of  self-government,  with  all  its  attendant  immuni- 
ties, is  a  consideration  which  Christianity  proffers  as  its  first 
gift  to  every  soul  oppressed,  at  once  the  best  solace  and  the 
greatest  strength.  It  is  an  idea  which  has  no  affinity  to  des- 
32 


374  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

potism,  and  can  never  enter  into  an  argument  for  the  oppres- 
sor. "  He  can  only  allege  the  right  of  the  strongest,  which, 
in  the  very  nature  of  moral  reasoning,  can  never  be  any  right 
at  all.  Be  it  once  granted  that  all  are  universally  competent 
to  practise  self-government,  the  tyrant  is  stripped  of  his  plea, 
the  usurper  must  be  dumb  in  his  own  justification,  and  the 
monarch  must  abdicate  his  throne,  how  ancient  soever  the  tyr- 
anny that  upholds  it,  or  live  in  a  state  of  lawless  and  adulterous 
union  with  Power." 

As  the  word  just,  or  righteous,  has  an  absolute  signification, 
so  the  word  free  has  but  one  meaning,  and  admits  of  no  qual- 
ified sense  in  any  comparative  degrees.  An  action  is  right  or 
wrong ;  a  government  is  free  or  oppressive  ;  Christianity  is 
republican  or  despotic.  "  If  it  leave  every  man  in  the  pos- 
session of  his  native  liberty,  it  is  free  ;  if  it  depredate  upon 
and  circumscribe  that  liberty  in  the  least  degree,  it  is  arbitraiy 
and  oppressive.  No  circumstances  can  alter  the  nature  of 
justice  ;  none  can  palliate  the  severity  and  wrong  of  despotism. 
As  justice  is  practicable  under  all  circumstances,  because  it 
has  its  foundation  in  the  nature  and  constitution  of  man,  so  is 
self-government,  his  ability  for  which  is  in  like  manner  pred- 
icated upon  his  moral  attributes ;  and  the  universal  practica- 
bility of  self-government  is  no  more  to  be  questioned  than  the 
universal  practicability  of  private  morals."  Hence  we  may 
add,  that  a  treatise  on  political  or  religious  doctrines,  which 
adopts  all  the  various  forms  of  government  as  equally  legiti- 
mate and  Christian,  simply  because  they  have  all  at  some  time, 
or  in  some  place,  been  actually  reduced  to  practice,  is  as 
absurd  as  any  despairing  plea  of  infidelity  which  sanctions  all 
usages  and  practices  alike.  But  this  is  not  the  prevailing  spirit 
and  tendency  of  those  institutions,  through  which  Christ  de- 
signed to  place  the  common  enjoyments  of  life  within  the 
reach  of  all,  to  make  instructive  books  and  ennobling  educa- 
tion to  be  accessible  to  the  most  obscure,  and  attainable  to  the 
feeblest  mind  ;  to  spur  forward  inventive  genius  to  that  per- 
fection which  will  bring  literature,  art,  and  science  within  the 


CHRISTIANITY    THE    DELIVERER    OF    THE    OPPRESSED.      375 

means  of  the  indigent,  resting  for  the  best  success  upon  the 
number,  rather  than  the  rank,  of  their  patrons  ;  leaving  unob- 
structed to  merit  every  station  in  society,  to  interpose  the 
broadest  and  most  prolific  domain  ;  every  where  and  always 
tending  to  promote  "  the  greatest  good  of  the  greatest  num- 
ber." These  are  the  ends  which  republican  Christianity  pro- 
poses to  itself;  no  exterminating  war  but  that  of  reason  and 
love  against  blind  force  ;  no  destruction  but  that  of  tyranny  ; 
no  division  but  that  of  universal  and  heaven-descended  rights  ; 
no  supremacy  but  the  permanent  dominion  of  just  principles, 
the  dignity  and  glory  of  true  righteousness.  It  was  by  the 
irresistible  power  of  these  influences  that  Christianity  came  to 
subdue  the  most  ungenerous  foes,  and  in  proportion  as  they 
prevail  over  the  vices  and  oppressions  of  our  world,  the  proph- 
et's dream  will  be  realized,  when 

"  Sovereign  law,  the  state's  collected  will, 
O'er  thrones  and  globes  elate 
Sits  empress,  crowning  good,  repressing  ill." 

Secondly,  Christianity  is  most  merciful  towards  those  who 
suffer  the  greatest  abuse.  Its  immediate  office  and  ultimate 
design  is,  to  crown  all  social  institutions  with  the  highest  free- 
dom, and  teaches  every  where  that  each  individual  has  the 
same  right  to  be  independent  that  a  nation  has.  As  compre- 
hended in  the  great  law  of  moral  obligation  expounded  and 
exemplified  by  our  Savior,  the  duties  we  owe  as  citizens  are 
merely  a  part  of  our  duties  "  as  neighbors,"  which  implies  that 
the  whole  family  of  man  are  both  competent  and  bound  to  sus- 
tain and  discharge  the  duties  of  free  citizens  of  a  free  com- 
monwealth. No  book  ever  written  makes  us  so  sensible  as 
the  Christian  revelation  of  the  dignity  of  man  as  man,  and  the 
frivolity  of  all  those  temporary  or  accidental  distinctions  with 
which  the  world  has  been  so  long  oppressed.  The  time,  place, 
and  circumstances  of  Christ's  advent  are  all  significant  of  the 
true  nature  of  the  religion  he  came  to  diffuse  on  earth.  He 
did  not  say  that  he  was  a  Jew,  that  he  had  appeared  to  glorify 


376  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

a  particular  people,  and  establish  dynasties  more  splendid  and 
enduring  than  the  power  of  David  and  Solomon.  He  said 
simply,  "  I  am  the  Son  of  man,"  never  taking  to  himself  even 
the  title  "  Son  of  God  ;  "  as  if  he  was  anxious  in  every  form 
to  teach  the  great  and  fundamental  principle  of  his  life  and 
doctrines,  that,  next  to  the  name  of  God,  nothing  is  more  grand 
than  the  name  of  man,  nothing  more  efficacious  to  procure 
succor,  honor,  and  fraternal  regard.  The  ancient  law  was  the 
incarnation  of  a  threefold  inhumanity,  manifested  in  the  sac- 
rifice of  the  feeble  to  the  strong,  the  many  to  the  few,  and  the 
enmity  of  every  man  toward  his  brother.  But  the  royal  law 
of  love,  given  to  the  world  in  Christian  institutions,  is  directly 
opposite  —  the  protection  of  the  feeble  against  the  strong,  the 
many  against  the  few,  and  the  love  of  all  for  each.  It  was 
this  gospel  that  the  apostles  were  commanded  to  go  forth  and 
"  preach  to  every  creature."  The  propagation,  distribution, 
universality  of  divine  truth  became  the  perpetual  order  of  the 
day  to  every  disciple,  and  in  the  place  of  selfishness  and  op- 
pression, unbounded  charity  and  love  came  to  reign.  It  was 
redeeming  truth  whose  perfection  was  to  be  kindled  before  the 
eyes  of  all,  that  even  down  to  the  most  inferior  ranks,  con- 
demned before  to  vegetate  in  a  shameful  and  almost  invin- 
cible barbarism,  vitalizing  heat  and  light  might  descend,  to 
sustain  the  most  depressed  and  enlighten  the  most  benighted. 
Lycurgus  deemed  it  a  great  privilege  to  consult  the  oracle  at 
Delphi,  and  Numa  is  fabled  to  have  rejoiced  to  take  counsel 
of  the  nymph  Egeria;  but  Christianity  gratuitously  proffers 
wider  sources  of  purer  wisdom,  from  which  the  most  destitute 
may  derive  the  inspirations  of  sovereign  justice,  and  be  invested 
with  a  panoply  of  invincible  strength.  Thus  enlightened  and 
fortified,  the  victim  of  human  injustice,  coming  to  comprehend 
his  just  relations  to  the  Almighty,  and  the  rights  connected 
therewith,  says  to  himself  and  his  comrades  in  affliction,  — 

"  Why  should  we  be  tender, 
To  let  an  arrogant  piece  of  flesh  threaten  us, 
Play  judge  and  executioner  all  himself  r" 


CHRISTIANITY  THE  DELIVERER  OF  THE  OPPRESSED.   377 

Christianity  protects  all  human  feebleness  against  all  inhu- 
man force,  all  purity  against  corruption,  all  modesty  against 
insolence  ;  it  protects  the  tenderest  plant  against  the  most  stub- 
born, the  vassal  against  the  lord,  the  cabin  against  the  palace. 
The  English  Magna  Charta  has  been  much  praised,  because 
of  the  improved  rights  wrested  from  King  John.  But  the  vic- 
tory at  Runnymede  was  for  the  advantage  of  the  barons  only ; 
the  masses  of  the  common  people  were  left  by  it  just  where 
they  were  before.  It  is  the  influence  of  the  cross  alone  that 
unfolds  the  basis  of  public  welfare  as  well  as  personal  secu- 
rity ;  let  the  masses  but  see  the  simplicity  and  feel  the  power 
of  this,  and,  with  free  minds  in  bodies  disinthralled,  they  will 
not  vote  Barabbas  especial  immunities  while,  blinded  by  priestly 
prejudice,  and  craftily  impelled  by  despotic  power,  they  send 
Jesus  to  be  crucified.  There  is  no  hope  for  the  world,  except 
as  the  feeling  of  true  Christian  brotherhood  guides  and  adorns 
the  influence  of  its  master  minds.  Not  unfrequently  they  are 
distinguished  for  arbitrary  political  doctrines,  or  religious  infi- 
delity, which  lead  their  possessors  to  consolidate  the  despotism 
of  a  few  to  the  most  effectual  injury  of  the  many.  Gibbon 
and  Voltaire  attacked  the  foundations  of  the  Christian  faith, 
while  they  prostituted  history  to  the  dishonor  of  popular  rights. 
Hume  labored  in  defence  of  English  tyranny ;  and  Mitford 
attempted  to  dignify  the  monarchs  of  Persia  and  Macedon  at 
the  expense  of  the  republic  of  Minerva,  whose  history  is  the 
brightest  glory  of  ancient  intellect.  As  these  pets  of  aristo- 
cratic and  regal  power  perverted  their  fine  talents  to  bolster 
up  the  tyranny  of  the  eighteenth  century,  so  Alison  yet  lives 
with  tinsel  show  to  decorate  the  insufferable  toryism  of  the 
present  age. 

11  Thou  bane  of  liberal  knowledge,  nature's  curse  ! 
Parent  of  misery,  pampered  yice's  nurse  ! 
Plunging,  by  thy  annihilating  breath, 
The  soul  of  Genius  in  the  trance  of  death, 
Unbounded  Power  !  beneath  thy  baleful  sway 
The  voice  of  Freedom  sinks  in  dumb  decay." 
32* 


378  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

The  free  spirit  of  Christianity  quickens  and  elevates  the  soul 
by  a  consciousness  of  its  innate  capacities  and  glorious  destiny, 
making  proselytes  who  are  independent  because  they  are  intel- 
ligent, and  who  never  surrender  their  wills,  their  responsibil- 
ity, to  an  earthly  master.  Under  its  influence,  man  no  longer 
grovels  in  the  dust  beneath  imperial  frowns,  but  walks  erect 
and  unterrified,  himself  the  lord  of  creation,  with  eyes  raised 
to  that  heaven  whence  comes  the  only  authority  he  obeys,  and 
whither  tend  all  the  aspirations  of  his  heart.  He  is  a  free 
agent ;  thinks,  speaks,  acts  for  himself ;  claims  to  enjoy  the 
fruits  of  his  own  industry  ;  follows  the  career  most  genial  to 
his  own  taste,  and  persists  in  maintaining  for  all  others  the 
same  inalienable  right ;  lives  peaceably  under  laws  which  he 
lias  assisted  to  form,  and  dies  at  length,  having  never  intention- 
ally caused  suffering  in  a  single  fellow-being,  but  achieved 
much  to  promote  the  happiness  of  all.  Earth  is  blest  with 
their  existence,  and  when  the  beneficent  depart  from  sublunary 
scenes,  it  is  with  spontaneous  joy  and  a  natural  ascent  they  rise 
in  a  loftier  degree  to  imbibe  the  freedom  of  that  city  of  God, 
which  they  have  long  enjoyed,  and  which  is  indeed  a  city  of 
refuge  to  the  just,  and  their  appropriate  award.  To  them, 
religion  is  the  highest  harmony,  and  most  thrilling  power,  like 
the  majestic  organ-notes  that  forever  resound  through  heaven. 
It  nerves  their  faculties,  exalts  their  ambition,  and  mingles  in 
the  "cup  of  trembling,"  which  every  human  lip  must  taste, 
many  ingredients  that  most  happily  mitigate  anguish  and 
enliven  hope. 

Said  Bolingbroke,  "  Liberty  is  to  the  collective  body  what 
health  is  to  every  individual  body.  Without  health,  no  pleas- 
ure can  be  tasted  by  man  ;  without  liberty,  no  happiness  can 
be  enjoyed  by  society."  But  this  spirit  of  freedom,  which  is 
so  essential  to  the  promotion  of  personal  worth  and  social 
progress,  is  often  destroyed  or  sorely  crippled  by  those  who 
ungenerously  strive  to  dim  its  light  in  the  souls  of  their  fellow- 
men.  Were  it  not  that,  to  defend  and  perpetuate  the  best 
interests  of  humanity,  God  raises  up,  in  every  rank  and  age, 


CHRISTIANITY   THE    DELIVERER    OF    THE    OPPRESSED.     379 

heroes  who  feel  great  truths  and  dare  to  tell  them,  and  whose 
words  seem  winged  with  angels'  wings,  purifying  the  air 
they  winnow,  and  scattering  light  and  strength  in  all  their 
flight,  we  should  indeed  fear  that  tyranny  at  last,  by  some  fear- 
ful combination  of  nefarious  powers,  might  succeed  in  blotting 
the  bannered  constellations  from  Freedom's  skies.  Of  such  a 
result,  however,  there  is  little  occasion  for  fear,  since  we  know, 

"  That  there  are  spirit-rulers  of  all  worlds, 
Which  fraternize  with  earth,  and,  though  unknown, 
Hold  in  the  shining  voices  of  the  stars 
Communion  on  high,  ever  and  every  where." 

We  do  not  believe  that  man  on  earth  is  doomed  to  perpetual 
slavery  in  any  form.  Christianity  plants  in  the  heart  a  sublime 
idea,  a  celestial  sentiment,  potent  enough  to  redeem  every 
individual  and  bless  the  world.  It  makes  its  recipients  not  dis- 
ciples merely,  but  prophets  to  teach  and  redeemers  to  rescue 
from  bondage  all  their  fellow-sufferers.  It  sends  them  forth 
completely  armed  with  an  invulnerable  panoply,  commissioned 
to  avoid  no  peril  and  shrink  from  no  pain  which  the  advocacy 
in  word  or  action  may  require.  They  encompass  the  earth, 
fortified  with  the  energies  and  exhilarated  with  the  beati- 
tudes of  heaven,  that  they  may  elevate  the  remotest  victim  of 
oppression,  and  make  all  nations  a  band  of  brethren  joined. 
The  source  of  this  unique  and  ennobling  influence  it  is  easy  to 
trace.  In  Christ  was  born  the  rising  genius  of  all  those  revo- 
lutions through  which  progressive  humanity  advances  to  the 
full  possession  of  its  highest  rights  and  widest  glories.  From 
age  to  age,  his  ideas  become  acts,  his  principles  grow  into 
combats  with  every  form  of  oppression,  and  his  disciples  prove 
their  vital  relation  to  himself  by  becoming  at  all  hazards  the 
emancipators  of  mankind. 

The  chief  forms  of  government  that  prevailed  in  ancient 
times  were,  the  autocratic,  or  the  rule  of  a  despot ;  the  theo- 
cratic, or  sway  of  a  priestly  corporation  ;  and  the  aristocratic, 
or  dictation  of  a  select  and  privileged  few.     The  three  great 


380  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

vices  that  predominated  in  connection  with  these  were,  sensual 
indulgence,  religious  ostentation,  and  the  cruelties  of  war. 
When  Christ  arose,  he  did  not  meddle  with  governments  as 
such,  not  because  he  was  indifferent  to  the  injuries  they  inflicted, 
but  because  any  thing  like  political  action  would  have  defeated 
the  mission  on  which  he  came.  Neither  did  he  assail  antago- 
nistically,  and  apart  from  the  political  institutions  with  which 
they  were  connected,  the  great  evils  we  have  named  ;  but  he 
overthrew  them  more  effectively,  by  teaching  positive  and 
universal  principles,  whose  operation  would  lead  to  their  inevi- 
table destruction.  He  assailed  sensual  enjoyments  by  teaching 
spiritual  purity  and  elevation  ;  he  assailed  empty  religious  show 
by  exciting  practical  religious  feeling ;  he  assailed  tyrannous 
war  by  inculcating  fraternal  peace.  Such  instructions  then,  as 
now,  were  much  needed,  and  in  all  the  progress  of  moral 
reform  they  will  ever  be  the  most  triumphant.  "The  idea 
of  the  just  is  one  of  the  glories  of  human  nature  ;  man  per- 
ceives it  at  first,  but  he  perceives  it  only  as  a  light  glimmering 
in  the  deep  night  of  primitive  passions  ;  he  sees  it  perpetually 
violated,  and  eveiy  moment  obliterated,  by  the  necessary  dis- 
order resulting  from  conflicting  passions  and  interests."  Never 
had  this  latent  perception  of  the  true  and  the  good  become  so 
dim  in  the  soul  of  man,  as  under  the  oppressions  he  bore 
eighteen  centuries  ago.  Then  the  universal  sway  of  arbitrary 
power,  after  having  chained  the  nations  to  its  grandeur,  held 
them  bound  to  its  humiliations,  and,  for  the  first  time  in  the  his- 
tory of  the  human  race,  liberty  had  no  asylum  on  the  earth.  At 
this  critical  moment  Christ  came,  and  ever  since  Truth  has  had 
her  Maccabees  in  the  world,  to  preside  with  brave  purity  at 
public  altars,  and  kindle  holy  joys  on  every  domestic  hearth. 
At  the  moment  Cato  of  Utica  despaired  of  human  welfare  and 
committed  suicide,  Jesus  Christ  sent  his  apostles  to  announce 
the  gospel  of  life  and  peace  to  every  creature,  and  plant  in 
their  faith,  their  love,  and  adoration,  the  empire  of  equitable 
justice  and  ennobling  truth.  If,  therefore,  Christ  did  not  single 
out  some  local  evil  for  particular  attacks,  and  if  he  did  not 


CHRISTIANITY    THE    DELIVERER    OF    THE    OPPRESSED.     381 

revolutionize  a  single  existing  government,  he  did  what  was 
infinitely  better  ;  he  planted  a  republican  church  amongst  man- 
kind, thenceforth  to  be  a  perpetual  Pharos,  the  source  whence 
should  emanate  principles  mighty  and  beneficent  to  renovate 
and  save  the  world. 

Says  Dr.  Channing,  "  History  and  philosophy  plainly  show 
to  me  in  human  nature  the  foundation  and  promise  of  a  better 
era,  and  Christianity  concurs  with  these.  The  thought  of  a 
higher  condition  of  the  world  was  the  secret  fire  which  burned 
in  the  soul  of  the  great  Founder  of  our  religion  and  in  his  first 
followers.  That  he  was  to  act  on  all  future  generations,  that 
he  was  sowing  a  seed  which  was  to  grow  up  and  spread  its 
branches  over  all  nations,  this  great  thought  never  forsook  him 
in  life  and  death.  That  under  Christianity  a  civilization  has 
grown  up  containing  in  itself  nobler  elements  than  are  found 
in  earlier  forms  of  society,  who  can  deny  ?  Great  ideas  and 
feelings,  derived  from  this  source,  are  now  at  work.  Amidst 
the  prevalence  of  crime  and  selfishness,  there  has  sprung  up 
in  the  human  heart  a  sentiment  or  principle  unknown  in  earlier 
ages,  an  enlarged  and  trustful  philanthropy,  which  recognizes 
the  rights  of  every  human  being,  which  is  stirred  by  the  terri- 
ble oppressions  and  corruptions  of  the  world,  and  which  does 
not  shrink  from  conflict  with  evil  in  its  worst  forms.  There  has 
sprung  up,  too,  a  faith,  of  which  antiquity  knew  nothing,  in  the 
final  victory  of  truth  and  right,  in  the  elevation  of  men  to  a 
clearer  intelligence,  to  more  fraternal  union,  and  to  a  purer 
worship.  This  faith  is  taking  its  place  among  the  great  springs 
of  human  action,  is  becoming  even  a  passion  in  more  fervent 
spirits.  I  hail  it  as  a  prophecy  which  is  to  fulfil  itself.  A 
nature  capable  of  such  an  aspiration  cannot  be  degraded  for- 
ever. Ages  rolled  away  before  it  was  learned  that  this  world 
of  matter  which  we  tread  on  is  in  constant  motion.  We  are 
beginning  to  learn  that  the  intellectual,  moral,  social  world  has 
its  motion  too,  not  fixed  and  immutable,  like  that  of  matter,  but 
one  which  the  free  will  of  men  is  to  cany  on,  and  which, 
instead  of  returning  into  itself,  like  the  earth's  orbit,  is  to  stretch 


382  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

forward  forever.  This  hope  lightens  the  mystery  and  burden 
of  life.  It  is  a  star  which  shines  on  me  in  the  darkest  night ; 
and  I  should  rejoice  to  reveal  it  to  the  eyes  of  my  fellow- 
creatures." 

If,  then,  any  one  asks,  "  Why  should  we  pity  and  help  the 
poor  man  ?  "  let  us  answer  in  the  language  of  the  same  phil- 
anthropic writer,  "  Because  he  is  a  man  ;  because  poverty 
does  not  blot  out  his  humanity ;  because  he  has  your  nature, 
your  sensibilities,  your  wants,  your  fears ;  because  the  winter 
wind  pierces  him,  and  hunger  gnaws  him,  and  disease  racks 
and  weakens  him,  as  truly  as  they  do  you.  Place  yourself, 
my  friend,  in  his  state  ;  make  yourself,  by  a  strong  effort  of 
thought,  the  inhabitant  of  his  unfurnished  and  cold  abode,  and 
then  ask  why  you  should  help  him.  He  is  a  man,  though  rags 
cover  him,  though  his  unshorn  hair  may  cover  his  human 
features,  —  a  member  of  your  family,  a  child  of  the  same 
Father,  and,  what  is  most  important,  he  not  only  has  your 
wants  and  feelings,  but  shares  with  you  in  the  highest  powers 
and  hopes  of  human  nature.  He  is  a  man  in  the  noblest  sense, 
created  in  God's  image,  with  a  mind  to  think,  a  conscience  to 
guide,  a  heart  which  may  grow  warm  with  sentiments  as  pure 
and  generous  as  your  own.  To  some  this  may  seem  declama- 
tion. There  are  some  who  seldom  think  of  or  value  man  as 
man.  It  is  man  born  in  a  particular  rank,  clad  by  the  hand  of 
fashion  and  munificence,  moving  in  a  certain  sphere,  whom 
they  respect.  Poverty  separates  a  fellow-being  from  them, 
and  severs  the  golden  chain  of  humanity.  But  this  is  a  gross 
and  vulgar  way  of  thinking,  and  religion  and  reason  cry  out 
against  it.  The  true  glory  of  man  is  something  deeper  and 
more  real  than  outward  condition.  A  human  being,  created 
in  God's  image,  and,  even  when  impoverished  by  vice,  retain- 
ing power  essentially  the  same  with  angels,  has  a  mysterious 
importance,  and  his  good,  where  it  can  be  promoted,  is  worthy 
the  care  of  the  proudest  of  his  race.    .  .  . 

"Next  to  the  great  doctrine  of  immortal  life,  we  may  say 
that  the  most  characteristic  element  of  our  religion  is  that  of 


CHRISTIANITY    THE    DELIVERER    OF    THE    OPPRESSED.     383 

universal  charity.  And  the  doctrine  of  immortality  and  the 
duty  of  charity  are  not  so  separate  as  many  may  think  ;  for 
love  or  benevolence  is  the  spirit  of  the  eternal  world,  the  tem- 
per which  is  to  make  us  blest  beyond  the  grave,  and  to  give  us 
hereafter  the  highest  enjoyment  of  the  character  and  works  of 
our  Creator.  There  is  another  view  by  which  it  appears  that 
the  Christian  doctrine  of  immortality  blends  with  and  sustains 
charity ;  for,  according  to  this  doctrine,  all  men  are  to  live 
forever,  Christ  died  for  all,  all  are  essentially  equal,  and  the 
distinctions  of  their  lives  are  trifles.  Thus  it  is  seen  that  the 
poor  are  recommended  with  an  infinite  power  to  the  love  and 
aid  of  their  brethren.  No  man  can  read  the  New  Testament 
honestly,  and  not  learn  to  measure  his  religion  chiefly  by  his 
benevolence.  If  the  spirit,  and  example,  and  precepts  of 
Jesus  Christ  have  not  taught  us  to  love  our  fellow-creatures, 
we  have  no  title  whatever  to  the  name  and  the  hope  of  Chris- 
tians. If  we  have  not  learned  this  lesson,  we  have  learned 
nothing  from  our  Master.  About  other  things  Christians  may 
dispute,  but  here  there  can  be  no  controversy.  Charity  is  a 
duty  placed  before  us  with  a  sunlike  brightness.  It  comes  to 
us  from  the  lips,  the  life,  the  cross  of  our  Master;  and  if 
charity  be  not  in  us,  then  Christ  does  in  no  degree  live  within 
us,  then  our  profession  of  his  religion  is  a  mockery,  then  he 
will  say  of  us  in  the  last  day,  — '  I  was  hungry,  and  ye  gave 
me  no  meat;  thirsty,  and  ye  gave  me  no  drink.  I  know  you 
not.     Depart.'" 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that,  by  enforcing  the  principles  of 
Christianity  in  all  their  comprehensiveness  and  power,  we  must 
effectually  uproot  and  destroy  oppression  of  every  form  ;  be- 
cause the  gospel  is  most  opposed  to  slavery,  and  is  directly 
antagonistic  to  the  most  fearful  curse  of  earth,  the  spirit  which 
enslaves,  and  which  too  habitually  dwells  in  us  all-  But  it  is 
a  most  inhuman  and  unchristian  spirit,  be  it  found  in  individuals 
or  commonwealths.  We  hear  much  about  "  Christian  states.1' 
A  bold  and  free  writer  of  England  asks,  "  Can  any  one  point 
out,  upon  the  whole  face  of  the  earth,  a  real  Christian  state  or 


384  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

government  ?  No  form  of  authority  which  recognizes  slavery 
in  a  community  can  be  entitled  to  that  appellation ;  for  I  think 
it  must  at  all  events  be  admitted,  that  whatever  else  may  be 
disputable  in  Christianity,  there  is  one  principle  belonging  to  it 
which  stands  out  most  prominent  in  its  character  ;  and  that  is, 
to  '  do  unto  others  as  we  would  that  they  should  do  unto  us.' 
There  is  no  rule  in  Christianity  which  can  justify  me  in 
making  my  fellow-creature  a  slave.  No  man  is  desirous  of 
being  a  slave,  except  perhaps  under  very  particular  and  extra- 
ordinary circumstances.  Unhappily  there  are  conditions  of 
life  which  generate  this  wish.  I  can,  for  instance,  imagine  in 
this  country  a  laborer,  poor  and  old  ;  his  days  are  now  declin- 
ing toward  the  shades  of  night  and  death  ;  his  form  is  wasted 
by  many  successive  years  of  toil,  and  by  exposure  to  a  variety 
of  hardships;  his  strength  fails  him;  his  muscles  and  bones 
refuse  to  do  the  bidding  of  a  mind  which  would  still,  if  it  could, 
task  them  for  more  and  more  toil.  Such  a  man,  probably,  in 
the  bitterness  of  his  heart,  with  only  the  prospect  of  a  removal 
from  his  wretched  hovel  to  the  yet  more  repulsive  poorhouse, 
and  from  that  to  the  cold  grave, —  why,  he  might,  in  the  agony 
of  his  soul,  wish  to  Heaven  that  he  had  been  a  slave,  in  which 
case  there  would  at  least  have  been  the  condition  imposed  upon 
his  master  of  preserving  him  from  nakedness  and  starvation  in 
his  latter  days.  Show  me  institutions  and  their  administration 
which  can  produce  such  a  feeling  as  this  in  the  human  heart, 
and  what  a  mass  of  wretchedness  on  the  one  hand,  and  abuse 
of  authority  on  the  other,  will  you  find  in  that  state  of  society  ! 
But,  apart  from  this  or  any  other  extreme  case,  every  man 
recoils  from  the  notion  of  slavery.  It  cannot  be  a  thing  which 
he  would  '  wish  to  be  done  unto  him ; '  and  if,  therefore, 
Christianity  be  brought  into  the  question,  —  for  the  rule  in  the 
New  Testament  applies  to  the  state  as  well  as  to  individuals, — 
the  man  must  stand  self-condemned  and  convicted  of  incon- 
sistency, who  wishes  to  make  others  slaves,  or  to  keep  them  in 
such  a  degraded  condition  if  they  are  so  already." 

Every  community  in  which  provision  is  not  made  for  the 


CHRISTIANITY    THE    DELIVERER    OF    THE    OPPRESSED.     385 

destitute,  and  in  which  a  single  individual  is  deprived  of  the 
necessary  elements  of  social  existence,  either  is  not  yet  a 
Christian  community,  or  has  ceased  to  be  so.  Of  the  primi- 
tive believers  in  our  holy  and  beneficent  religion  it  is  said, 
"  Neither  was  any  among  them  that  lacked."  But  alas !  to 
how  many  of  their  successors  in  the  sacred  profession  might 
not  the  reproach  of  the  ascended  Redeemer  to  the  church  at 
Ephesus  be  justly  addressed  :  "  I  have  somewhat  against  thee, 
because  thou  hast  left  thy  first  love,"  —  charity,  or  merciful 
attention  to  the  wants  of  the  most  abused.  Individual  liberty, 
the  unconstrained  privilege  of  private  judgment  and  public 
worship,  the  human  and  divine  illegality  of  slavery  in  all  its 
forms,  are  principles  so  profoundly  Christian,  and  so  preem- 
inently consecrated  by  the  gospel,  that  their  absolute  violation 
would  soon  render  Christian  society  impossible.  The  com- 
parative inefficiency  of  the  modern  church  results  from  the 
fact  that  the  greatest  wrongs  do  yet  exist  in  modified  forms, 
and  which  Christianity  was  divinely  appointed  completely  to 
destroy.  Man  was  made  to  go  forth  freely  from  his  own 
home,  armed  with  the  implements  of  honest  industry,  to  enjoy 
unmolested  the  fruits  of  his  own  toil  on  his  own  domain. 
There  is  but  one  definition  of  a  slave  ;  and  that  is,  a  being 
who  has  no  rightful  possession  of  earth's  soil,  no  just  compen- 
sation for  the  labor  of  his  hands,  or  no  suitable  sphere  and 
motives  for  the  exercise  of  his  mind.  Delegate  to  a  few 
favored  ones  the  power  to  possess,  represent,  and  govern  these 
invaluable  blessings,  and  what  would  remain  but  universal 
servitude,  hunger,  thirst,  and  misery  the  most  abject,  marshalled 
under  the  scourge  of  unfeeling  despots,  the  infernal  presump- 
tion and  tyranny  of  whom  it  is  impossible  adequately  to 
describe !  Then  man,  the  image  of  God  himself,  is  debased  to 
a  helot  crushed  under  the  heel  of  a  human  wretch  ;  earth  flies 
from  beneath,  heaven  from  above,  and  there  remains  to  the 
victim  no  other  glory  than  to  hang  joyless  in  the  vacuum 
between,  to  please  an  individual  tyrant,  and  shame  the  passive 
indignation  of  abused  mankind. 
33 


386  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

Jesus  Christ  rendered  the  poor  necessary  as  well  as  useful 
to  the  rich,  and  made  man  every  where  the  proprietor  of  him- 
self and  all  the  worth  of  his  toil,  by  procuring  for  every  rank 
and  condition  of  our  race  the  undoubted  right  to  share  equally 
in  the  privileges  of  the  purest  freedom  and  the  unobstructed 
sources  of  the  highest  life.  If  any  one  demands  on  what  page 
of  the  gospel  slavery  is  positively  condemned  and  abolished, 
we  answer,  that  it  is  not  upon  any  one  page,  but  upon  all !  Je- 
sus Christ  never  spoke  a  single  word  that  was  not  the  condem- 
nation of  servitude,  which  broke  not  every  link  of  all  the 
chains  ever  imposed  on  humanity.  When  he  entitled  himself 
the  Son  of  man,  he  emancipated  all  mankind  ;  when  he  com- 
manded each  one  to  love  his  neighbor  as  himself,  he  recog- 
nized in  every  mortal  a  brother,  and  made  him  a  fellow-citizen, 
beloved  and  free  ;  when  he  chose  fishermen,  tax-gatherers,  and 
tent-makers  for  his  apostles,  he  broke  down  all  distinctions  of 
proud  rank,  by  levelling  all  up  to  a  divine  standard,  and 
degrading  none ;  when  he  died  for  all  without  distinction,  he 
delivered  all  without  exception,  and  constituted  the  involuntary 
servitude  of  rational  creatures  redeemed  by  his  blood  thence- 
forth to  be  the  deepest  disgrace  and  most  damning  crime.  It 
is  our  consolation  to  know  that  the  eye  of  Christ  is  upon  the 
victim  as  he  groans  under  abuse,  drags  his  fetters,  or  bleeds 
under  the  lash  ;  that  he  experienced  all  this  in  his  own  person, 
subjected  for  a  season  to  like  tyrants,  and  that  in  due  time  he 
will  righteously  avenge  the  infinite  wrong. 

The  illegality  of  all  tyranny,  whether  of  one  or  of  several, 
and  of  all  privileges  legally  guarantied  to  a  particular  class  ; 
the  chimera  of  the  rights  of  birth ;  the  injustice  of  an  unequal 
division  of  family  property ;  and  all  such  questions  of  social 
order  or  individual  rights,  —  cease  to  be  doubtful  the  moment 
Christianity  is  allowed  to  be  arbiter  and  judge.  There  is 
always  something  the  most  anti-Christian  and  diabolical  in  the 
religious  pretexts  by  which,  even  in  our  day,  attempts  are 
sometimes  made  to  protect  and  defend  them.  The  gospel  sets 
out  from  the  principle  of  brotherhood  and  equality  throughout 


CHRISTIANITY    THE    DELIVERER    OF    THE    OPPRESSED.      387 

the  whole  family  of  man,  and  might  easily  have  applied  this 
principle  to  the  knowledge  of  truth,  thus  showing  that  this  is  a 
common  right.  But  the  Savior  knew  that  it  was  much  better 
to  overturn  the  bushel  than  formally  to  discuss  the  pretexts 
which  had  caused  the  light  to  be  hidden  under  it ;  consequently 
this  was  his  mode  of  procedure,  and,  from  the  very  commence- 
ment of  his  reign,  placed  every  kind  of  teaching  at  the  dispo- 
sal and  within  the  reach  of  all.  Christ,  who  understood  man 
perfectly,  and  who  was  God  manifested  most  divinely  in  the 
institutions  he  planted  on  earth,  knew  that  entire  freedom  of 
thought  and  action  is  the  only  system  favorable  to  human 
progress ;  and  the  gospel  has  ever  invited  the  world  to  follow 
that  course  with  such  glad  distinctness,  that  it  is  impossible  to 
deny  or  disguise  the  fact,  without  the  greatest  disgrace  to  him 
who  makes  the  attempt,  and  the  most  frightful  dishonor  to 
Christianity  thus  maligned. 

Christianity  was  given  to  subdue  the  most  ungenerous  foes, 
and  is  most  merciful  toward  those  who  suffer  the  greatest  abuse. 
Having  said  sufficiently,  perhaps,  on  these  two  points,  let  us 
proceed  to  remark,  —  ^ 

Thirdly,  that  it  is  the  highest  and  most  salutary  prerogative 
of  this  heavenly  power  to  inspire  ceaseless  rebellion  against 
every  species  of  ungodly  bonds.  The  fable  of  Tantalus  is  the 
history  of  the  human  race,  so  far  as  they  are  deprived  of  the 
redeeming  and  satisfying  influence  of  Christian  doctrine.  The 
mighty  want  is  perpetually  felt,  and  the  prayer  for  redemption 
springing  naturally  from  the  popular  heart  is  the  cry  of  the 
captive  lifting  up  his  chains,  and  seeking  for  a  link  where  he 
may  most  easily  break  them.  It  was  to  meet  and  satisfy  this 
universal  need  that  Christ  appeared.  He  became  a  member 
of  the  human  race,  mingled  with  the  multitude,  was  seen  and 
known  of  all,  member  of  a  family,  citizen  of  a  country, 
believer  in  a  religion,  participated  in  all  our  experience,  laid 
the  foundation  for  consummate  human  progress,  and  gave  to 
the  masses  of  every  land  the  amplest  means  for  obtaining  per- 
fect freedom  and  eternal  life,     Christianity  creates  the  noblest 


388  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

heroes,  by  engaging  the  best  thoughts  of  most  earnest  men, 
and  by  giving  birth  to  deeds  the  most  beneficent  and  sublime. 
While  these  remain,  it  will  be  hard  for  the  world  to  be  whiffled 
out  of  its  own  independent  reason  and  indisputable  rights  by  a 
handful  of  selfish  legislators  and  bigoted  priests.  A  great  bat- 
tle is  soon  to  be  fought,  and  will  surely  end  in  auspicious  vic- 
tory, because  those  who  obtain  the  triumph  deem  it  no  deroga- 
tion from  their  dignity  to  be  magnanimous  and  just  in  their 
warfare,  to  consult  the  highest  oracle  of  truth,  and  to  bow  in 
allegiance  only  to  its  response. 

Up  to  the  time  of  the  Christian  era,  as  has  been  the  case  too 
much  since,  mankind  were  considered  as  a  herd  of  deer  which 
the  privileged  classes  were  to  employ  to  gratify  their  lusts,  or 
which  they  were  at  pleasure  to  hunt  down  for  spite  or  sport,  as 
liked  them  best.  But  resistance  to  such  aggressions  is  an 
instinct  wisely  kept  alive  even  in  the  brute  creation. 

"  To  -whom  do  lions  cast  their  gentle  looks  ? 
Not  to  the  beast  that  would  usurp  their  den. 
Whose  hand  is  that  the  forest  bear  doth  lick  ? 
Not  his  that  spoils  her  young  before  her  face. 
"Who  'scapes  the  lurking  serpent's  mortal  sting  ? 
Not  he  that  sets  his  foot  upon  her  back. 
The  smallest  worm  will  turn  when  trodden  on  ; 
And  doves  will  peck  in  safeguard  of  their  brood." 

This  is  true  to  nature;  and  with  equal  verisimilitude  Diogenes 
is  represented  as  saying  to  his  great  pupil,  Plato,  "  Is  it  no  evil 
that  truth  and  beneficence  should  be  shut  out  at  once  from  so 
large  a  portion  of  mankind  ?  Is  it  none  when  things  are  so 
perverted,  that  an  act  of  beneficence  might  lead  to  a  thousand 
acts  of  cruelty,  and  that  one  accent  of  truth  should  be  more 
pernicious  than  all  the  falsehoods  that  have  been  accumulated 
since  the  formation  of  language,  since  the  gift  of  speech  ?  I 
have  taken  thy  view  of  the  matter;  take  thou  mine.  Hercules 
was  called  just  and  glorious,  and  worshipped  as  a  deity,  be- 
cause he  redressed  the  grievances  of  others.  Is  it  unjust,  is  it 
inglorious,  to  redress  one's  own  ?     If  that  man  rises  high  in 


CHRISTIANITY   THE    DELIVERER    OF   THE    OPPRESSED.      389 

the  favor  of  the  people,  high  in  the  estimation  of  the  valiant 
and  the  wise,  high  before  God,  by  the  assertion  and  vindication 
of  his  holiest  law,  who  punishes  with  death  such  as  would 
reduce  him  or  his  fellow-citizens  to  slavery,  how  much  higher 
rises  he  who,  being  a  slave,  springs  up  indignantly  from  his  low 
estate,  and  thrusts  away  the  living  load  that  intercepts  from 
him  what  even  the  reptiles  and  insects,  what  even  the  very 
bushes  and  brambles  of  the  roadside,  enjoy  !  " 

Undoubtedly  there  is  great  danger  of  inculcating  extravagant 
notions  with  respect  to  the  great  evils  of  our  age ;  but  perhaps 
the  greatest  danger  of  all  lies  in  being  ultra  against  ultraism. 
We  should  never  forget,  in  the  language  of  a  living  English 
writer,  that  "  the  world  is  in  a  transit  from  one  set  of  extremes 
to  another ;  from  the  extreme  of  ignorance  to  that  of  knowl- 
edge ;  from  the  extreme  of  servility  to  that  of  independence  ; 
from  the  extreme  of  bigotry  to  that  of  mental  freedom  ;  from 
the  extreme  of  war  and  oppression  to  that  of  peace  and  justice. 
All  the  world's  liberators  and  reformers  have  gone  to  extremes, 
and  by  that  served  humanity.  The  suggestion  of  independence 
for  the  United  States  of  America  was  an  extreme  proposal, 
which  horrified  all  timid  and  compromising  men.  The  refor- 
mation of  Luther  was  an  extreme  movement.  He  offended 
all  the  more  moderate  of  the  reformers  by  what  they  deemed 
his  violence.  What  was  the  Founder  of  Christianity  himself 
but  a  propounder  of  extreme  opinions,  as  they  appeared  to  the 
established  formalists  and  religionists  of  his  day  ?  Every  great 
and  good  movement  in  the  world  has  been  for  a  time  regarded 
as  extreme.  Extreme  thought  is  generally  the  most  far-going 
thought  of  the  time  in  which  it  is  uttered,  and  therefore  it  is 
most  likely  to  be  the  true  thought ;  for  it  goes  deeper  into  the 
reality  and  farther  into  futurity  than  any  other.  O,  it  is  not 
your  extreme,  but  your  compromising  people  who  do  the  mis- 
chief, and  indefinitely  retard  the  good.  Those  who  trim  be- 
tween party  and  party  ;  who  coquet  with  both  sides ;  who 
would  have  a  little  of  the  right  and  good,  but  not  too  much  of 
it ;  who  forget  that  in  politics  we  have  to  deal  not  so  much  with 
33* 


390  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

principles  as  with  interests,  and  that  it  is  not  that  people  do  not 
see  and  know,  but  that  they  have  their  own  advantages  to  gain 
by  holding  on  in  a  corrupt  course ;  compromisers  of  their  own 
thought ;  patchers-up  of  something  to  last  their  time  ;  willing 
mixers  of  clay  with  the  pure  gold  into  a  mongrel  Nebuchad- 
nezzar's image  for  false  worship,  —  O,  these  men  are  ever  the 
traitors  to  improvement,  and  work  more  enduring  damage  than 
its  worst  enemies." 

Christ  declared  that  he  was  not  come  to  bring  peace,  but  a 
sword,  a  war  terrible  and  grand  beyond  the  conception  of 
imagination.  It  begins  in  the  individual,  where  it  produces  the 
mightiest  conflict,  and  thence  extends  into  society  at  large, 
where  it  augments  its  force  and  works  the  most  radical  revolu- 
tions. The  predestined  mission  of  Christianity,  before  achiev- 
ing its  final  results,  will  be  sure  to  excite  commotions  through- 
out the  whole  mass  of  humanity  the  most  profitable  and 
profound.  Its  great  Author  would  most  effectually  improve 
the  world  by  placing  the  leaven  in  it,  and  by  causing  this  vital 
and  transforming  power  to  spread  out  its  redeeming  and  sanc- 
tifying influence  through  all  the  ramifications  of  society,  and 
all  the  relations  of  life ;  proving  that  there  is  no  capacity  of 
mind  which  it  does  not  enlarge,  and  no  social  relation  which  it 
does  not  ennoble  ;  spreading  refinement  of  maimers  and  deli- 
cacy of  thought,  rendering  individuals  more  polished,  and 
nations  more  happy,  by  banishing  from  the  world  every  thing 
calculated  to  intimidate,  inthrall,  or  offend.  Says  the  apostle, 
"  We  preach  Christ,  warning  every  man,  and  teaching  every 
man,  that  we  may  present  every  man  perfect  in  Christ  Jesus." 
This  passage,  confirmed  by  the  whole  New  Testament,  teaches 
that  the  great  design  of  all  the  doctrines  and  precepts  of  the 
gospel  is  to  exalt  the  character,  to  promote  eminent  purity  of 
heart  and  life,  and  to  make  man  every  where  intelligent  and 
free,  "  perfect  as  their  Father  in  heaven  is  perfect."  If  Chris- 
tianity did  not,  in  specific  terms,  command  the  master  to  free 
his  slaves,  and  the  despot  to  descend  from  his  infamous  throne, 
it  formed  its  alphabet  of  such  simple  and  yet  sublime  truths 


CHRISTIANITY   THE    DELIVERER    OF    THE    OPPRESSED.      391 

with  respect  to  the  paternal  character  of  God,  and  our  mutual 
relations  as  fellow-mortals,  that  no  one  can  mistake  the  highest 
requisitions,  and  be  either  bigoted  or  tyrannical,  and  yet  a  true 
disciple  of  the  great  Redeemer. 

As  the  last  and  grandest  collision  between  the  powers  of 
light  and  darkness  draws  near,  wicked  passions  will  grow  more 
boisterous  and  threats  most  severe.  A  reign  of  terror  may 
prevail  for  a  while,  when  the  heroes  of  freedom  will  have  to 
speak  and  write  with  the  fetters  of  turnkeys  gaping  for  their 
limbs,  and  the  minions  of  despotism  impatient  to  "  slip  the 
slave's  handcuffs  on,  and  snap  the  lock.11  Free  discussion  is 
what  unprincipled  dictators  always  most  fear,  since  the  wisdom 
of  God  has  so  constituted  things  that  the  mass  of  mankind, 
instructed  as  was  originally  designed,  should  always  be  able  to 
resist  oppression  ;  and  the  injurious  know  very  well  that  they 
could  not  long  inflict  popular  injustice  with  impunity,  if  the 
people  are  permitted  to  comprehend  the  will  of  God  and  their 
own  inalienable  rights.  But  when  "padlocks  for  our  lips  are 
forging,11  every  true  Christian  man  will  feel  that  then,  above 
all  other  emergencies,  "  silence  is  crime.11  Said  Burke, 
"  Oppression  makes  wise  men  mad ;  but  the  distemper  is  still 
the  madness  of  the  wise,  which  is  better  than  the  sobriety  of 
fools.11  It  is  that  wise  and  beneficent  zeal  which  transforms 
rights  into  mights,  and  mights  into  rights,  happily  rectifying 
and  sustaining  each  other.  It  melts  away  the  clogging  icebergs 
from  the  stream  of  life,  disperses  dark  and  depressing  thoughts, 
and  disinthralls  the  world. 

"It  is  thus  we  feel, 
"With,  a  gigantic  throb  athwart  the  sea, 
Each  others'  rights  and  wrongs  ;  thus  are  we  men." 

Says  Christ,  "  The  truth  shall  make  you  free.11  But  the 
real  disciples  of  this  truth  never  suppose  themselves  like 
Noah,  who  awoke  from  his  wine,  and  immediately  prophesied. 
They  do  not  deceive  themselves  nor  flatter  others  that  they 


392  REPUBLICAN   CHRISTIANITY. 

are  free,  because  they  may  have  written  on  a  sheet  of  paper 
the  word  liberty,  and  posted  it  at  the  corners  of  the  streets. 
True  Christian  freedom  is  not  a  placard  on  a  dead  wall,  or  an 
empty  word  on  indifferent  lips.  It  is  a  living  and  holy  power, 
the  protection  of  the  feeble,  instruction  of  the  benighted, 
fairest  adornment  of  the  domestic  hearth,  complete  disinthral- 
ment  of  all  the  oppressed,  only  guaranty  of  public  health  and 
perpetual  progress.  It  was  once  disputed  whether  persons 
of  a  different  color  from  Europeans  ought  to  be  considered 
as  having  a  lawful  claim  to  the  immunities  of  men ;  but 
Christianity,  pouring  light  upon  their  foreheads,  and  revealing 
the  superscription  of  God  thereon,  has  forever  silenced  that 
discussion.  If  civil  tyranny  and  bigoted  craft  shall  for  a  short 
time  longer  combine  their  infernal  machinations  to  destroy 
the  privileges  which  belong  to  every  human  soul,  their  time  is 
short ;  both  will  soon  sink  on  the  fiery  billows  of  eternal  ruin, 
as  they  richly  deserve,  even  as  a  vulture  and  a  snake,  out- 
spent,  drop,  twisted  in  inextricable  fight,  into  a  shoreless  sea. 
In  an  age  of  most  degraded  barbarism,  man  came  to  be 
estimated  so  low  as  to  have  a  pecuniary  price  put  upon  him  ; 
he  was  bought  and  sold  as  a  common  chattel,  to  abolish  which 
infamous  traffic,  it  was  necessary  that  God  himself  should  be 
sold  for  thirty  pieces  of  silver.  That  execrable  bargain  was 
the  pledge  of  emancipation  for  every  poor,  deserted,  stripped, 
and  lacerated  slave.  The  Almighty  would  show  to  the  uni- 
verse that,  he  never  formed  the  limbs  of  his  children  to  be 
chafed  with  fetters,  nor  their  souls  to  be  murdered  by  base 
servitude.  To  this  end,  through  the  gospel  of  his  Son,  he 
gave  to  the  world  an  entirely  new  element,  one  which  imparts 
worth,  health,  and  growth  to  all  the  rest,  and  without  which 
they  can  have  but  a  brief  and  comparatively  useless  being 
in  the  minds,  hearts,  and  characters  of  men  ;  and  that  element 
is  independence  —  personal,  political,  and  moral.  This  gives 
strength  to  virtue,  intensity  of  feeling  as  the  mainspring  of 
upright  principle  in  every  soul,  and  blends  the  greatest  public 


CHRISTIANITY    THE    DELIVERER    OF    THE    OPPRESSED.     393 

reformations  with  the  every-day  aspirations  of  private  life. 
It  resembles  a  vigorous  though  obscure  tree,  upon  which  the 
sun  shines  and  the  rains  fall,  which  puts  forth  its  ample  foliage 
in  the  summer,  and  preserves  its  vitality  unrestrained  by 
wintry  storms  for  another  spring,  which,  despite  all  vicissitudes, 
gives  its  shade  and  fruit  to  all  in  the  proper  season,  and  is 
even  more  deeply  rooted  and  rendered  more  prolific  by  freez- 
ing sleet  and  howling  storms. 

We  must  not  shrink  from  the  approach  of  moral  tempests, 
because  the  agitation  they  produce  may  threaten  to  be  great. 
When  the  tyranny  of  ages  is  to  be  heaved  off  the  popular 
breast  that  it  may  breathe  freely,  when  outraged  humanity 
starts  up  to  a  full  consciousness  of  its  rights  and  dignity,  it  is 
not  in  the  law  of  Providence  or  nature  of  man  that  the  boon 
desired  should  be  easily  won. 

"  Great  evils  ask  great  passions  to  redress  them, 
And  whirlwinds  fitliest  scatter  pestilence." 

"  Curse  ye  Meroz,  saith  the  angel  of  the  Lord  ;  curse  ye 
bitterly  the  inhabitants  thereof,"  sang  Deborah.  Was  it 
that  she  called  to  mind  any  personal  wrongs,  rapine,  or  insult, 
that  she,  or  the  house  of  Lapidoth,  had  received  from  Jabin 
or  Sisera  ?  No :  she  had  dwelt  under  her  palm-tree  in  the 
depth  of  the  mountain.  But  she  was  a  mother  in  Israel ;  and 
with  a  mother's  heart,  and  with  the  vehemence  of  a  patriot's 
love,  she  had  shot  the  fire  of  love  from  her  eyes,  and  poured 
the  blessings  of  love  from  her  lips,  on  the  people  that  had 
jeoparded  their  lives  unto  the  death  against  the  oppressors ; 
and  the  bitterness  awakened  and  borne  aloft  by  the  same 
love  she  precipitated  in  curses  on  the  selfish  and  coward 
recreants  who  "  came  not  to  the  help  of  the  Lord,  to  the  help 
of  the  Lord  against  the  mighty."  Well  will  it  be  if  many 
who  profess  to  be  the  disciples,  and  even  the  authorized 
teachers  of  Christianity  do  not  justly  incur  all  that  is  frightful 
in  this  truly  awful  malediction. 


394  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

Danby  has  painted  a  picture  which  represents  the  "  opening 
of  the  sixth  seal."  The  heavens  are  receding  ;  mountains  are 
rending  ;  earth  is  on  fire  ;  wealth,  honors,  power,  are  gone  ; 
and  blank  despair  seizes  every  class  of  mankind,  save  a  poor 
bondman,  who  alone  stands  upright,  his  chains  broken,  and 
his  hands  with  gratitude  raised  to  heaven.  Others  sink  to 
a  frightful  prison;  but,  thank  God,  he  is  free!  Let  us  not 
wait  till  that  fearful  day,  but  now  boldly  strive, 

"  Until  IMMORTAL  MIXD 

Unshackled  walks  abroad, 
And  chains  no  longer  bind 
The  image  of  our  God;  — 

u  Until  no  captive  one 

Murmurs  on  land  or  wave, 
And,  in  his  course,  the  sun 
Looks  down  upon  no  slave  !  " 


CHAPTER  V. 

CHRISTIANITY    THE    REWARDER    OF    THE 
SACRIFICED. 

In  the  first  part  of  this  comprehensive  discussion,  we  con- 
sidered the  republican  character  of  Jesus  Christ ;  and,  in  the 
second,  the  republican  spirit  of  the  primitive  church.  In  this 
third  part,  devoted  to  the  analysis  of  the  republican  influence  of 
Christian  doctrine,  we  have  already  portrayed  Christianity  as 
being  the  solace  of  the  obscure,  patron  of  the  aspiring,  fortifier 
of  the  weak,  and  deliverer  of  the  oppressed.  It  remains,  in 
this  concluding  chapter,  to  show  that  our  holy  religion  is  not 
only  the  best  inspiration  of  heroical  goodness,  but  an  adequate 
and  eternal  rewarder  of  the  sacrificed.  To  this  end  we  will 
consider  the  following  leading  points :  Christianity  has  ever 
been  the  fairest  and  foremost  victim  of  tyranny,  the  mightiest 
antagonist  to  every  form  of  injustice,  and  the  most  glorious 
rewarder  of  all  devotees  for  her  sake  sacrificed. 

In  the  first  place,  the  fairest  and  foremost  victim  of  tyran- 
nous hate  has  ever  been  the  divine  religion  which  Christ 
imbodied  and  exemplified  on  earth.  He  came  to  destroy  all 
local  religions,  with  their  exclusive  privileges,  and  to  open  the 
fountains  of  a  purer,  more  efficacious,  and  diffusive  faith  foi 
all  mankind.  This  he  avowed  at  the  opening  of  his  ministry, 
and  constantly  reiterated  up  to  the  close  of  his  earthly  career. 
Just  before  his  sacrifice,  he  openly  affirmed  in  the  temple 
" '  that  the  kingdom  of  God  was  to  be  taken  from  the  Jews, 
and  given  to  the  Gentiles,'  (Matt.  xxi.  43.  Mark  xii.  9.  Luke 
xx.  16,)  and  went  so  far  as  to  clothe  his  predictions  with  vari- 
ous instructive  narratives,  (Matt.  xxii.  1 — 14.)  Now,  how  could 
the  Jews  have  been  rejected,  and  the  heathen  substituted  in 


396  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

their  stead,  without  the  introduction  of  an  order  of  things  new, 
and  entirely  different  from  the  former  ?  When  Jesus  first 
sent  out  his  disciples  with  a  commission  to  excite  the  attention 
of  their  fellow-citizens  to  his  enterprises,  he  did  not  conceal 
from  them,  in  the  least  degree,  the  fact  that  their  calling  was 
a  very  dangerous  one,  (Matt.  x.  16,)  and  the  business  in- 
trusted to  them  greatly  detested,  (Matt.  x.  22.)  He  told  them 
of  the  abuses  of  every  kind  to  which  they  would  be  subject- 
ed, (verses  17,  18,)  and  observed  that  the  accomplishment  of 
his  views  would  unavoidably  result  in  a  universal  exaspera- 
tion and  dissension,  which  should  even  disturb  the  peace  of 
families,  and  sever  the  tenderest  connections,  (verses  34 — 36.) 
Had  Jesus  had  no  other  object  before  him  than  the  improve- 
ment of  the  prevailing  religion,  could  he  have  anticipated 
such  dangerous  commotions,  and  spoken  of  them  beforehand? 
The  labors  of  John  the  Baptist  did  not  disturb  the  public 
tranquillity,  for  he  undertook  nothing  in  opposition  to  the 
established  constitution.  Now,  if  Jesus,  as  the  result  of  what 
he  intended  to  accomplish,  looked  forward  to  a  dissolution  of 
all  former  relations,  and  a  state  of  war  between  all  parts  of 
society,  must  he  not  have  intended  to  go  much  farther  than 
John  did  ?  Must  he  not  have  purposed  the  actual  overthrow 
of  the  regulation^  then  in  existence  ?  There  is  something 
remarkable  in  the  manner  in  which,  on  every  occasion,  he 
explained  those  commandments  of  the  law  of  Moses,  which 
related  to  the  external  service  of  God,  and  made  up  a  great 
part  of  the  Jewish  constitution.  Nothing  was  more  sacred  in 
the  estimation  of  a  Jew  than  sacrifice.  Jesus  never  intimated 
that  a  man  should  offer  sacrifice,  but  he  often  censured  the 
abuses,  which,  to  the  prejudice  of  morality,  had  crept  into  the 
service,  (Matt.  xv.  5,  6  ;  Mark  vii.  11,  12,)  and,  with  feelings 
of  marked  approbation,  told  a  learned  man  who  had  asserted 
love  to  God  and  man  to  be  of  more  value  than  t  all  whole 
burnt  offerings,'  that  he  was  not  far  from  the  kingdom  of 
God,  (Mark  xii.  34.)" 

From  the  discourses  of  Christ,  recorded  by  the  evangelists, 


CHRISTIANITY   THE    REWARDER    OF    THE    SACRIFICED.     397 

two  things  are  most  evident.  First,  he  makes  it  the  duty  of 
his  friends,  in  their  future  efforts  for  the  accomplishment  of 
his  purposes,  to  exercise  the  most  discreet  moderation,  and 
the  most  patient  submission,  while  he  informs  them  of  the 
oppressions  they  must  suffer  in  the  conflicts  about  to  ensue. 
Violent  movements  would  surely  result  from  the  blind  re- 
ligious zeal  of  the  Jews  and  pagans,  and  their  opposition  to 
the  promulgation  of  his  doctrines  ;  but  the  welfare,  demanding 
the  fortitude  and  sacrifice  of  his  disciples,  was  to  be  strictly 
moral,  not  political.  Thus  they  understood  him  ;  for  none 
were  more  willing  to  act  the  part  of  good  subjects,  and  comply 
even  with  unjust  regulations,  than  they.  Hence  we  learn 
from  Tertullian,  that,  for  the  first  three  centuries  of  the  Chris- 
tian era,  though  they  were  numerous,  and  might  easily  have 
done  so,  not  one  instance  can  be  found  in  which  Christians 
ever  opposed  power  with  power,  or  took  up  arms  against  the 
inhuman  tyrants  by  whom  they  were  often  most  cruelly  per- 
secuted. 

The  second  truth  to  which  we  referred  is,  that,  while  Christ 
inculcated  moderation  and  the  spirit  of  self-sacrifice  upon  his 
friends,  he  enforced  upon  them  most  strongly  the  duty  of 
boldly  avowing  their  real  sentiments,  and  if  they  perished  from 
earth  as  the  consequence,  they  should  be  abundantly  rewarded 
with  himself  in  heaven.  On  this  point,  a  German  author  has 
well  arranged  Christ's  own  words :  "  In  more  than  one  in- 
stance, his  very  expressions  are  of  such  a  character  as  directly 
to  contradict  the  idea  that  he  operated  by  means  of  private 
institutions.  He  told  his  friends,  explicitly,  that  they  should 
resemble  a  city  set  on  a  high  hill,  which,  on  account  of  its  posi- 
tion, cannot  be  hid ;  that  they  should  be  a  light  for  illuminat- 
ing the  whole  world  ;  and  ought  never  to  think  of  keeping  any 
thing  secret.  Matt.  v.  13,  16.  He  announced  to  them,  in 
plain  terms,  that  the  extension  of  his  doctrines  would  excite 
great  commotions,  and  draw  down  severe  persecutions  upon 
his  friends.  Matt.  x.  21 — 32.  Had  it  been  his  intention  to 
advance  his  object  by  secret  springs,  he  must  have  charged 
34 


398  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

his  apostles  to  avoid  all  public  curiosity,  and  shun  the  very- 
appearance  of  general  movements.  Instead  of  doing  so, 
however,  and  making  it  their  duty  to  maintain  a  suspicious 
reserve  and  operate  in  secret,  he  commanded  them  to  teach 
every  thing  that  he  had  delivered  to  them,  with  boldness,  and 
preach  what  he  had  told  them  in  the  ear,  upon  the  house-top. 
Matt.  x.  26,  27.  Stronger  expressions  could  not  well  have 
been  employed  for  showing  that  he  wished  them  to  act  with 
perfect  frankness,  and  avoid  every  thing  like  mystery.  Of 
the  same  character  is  all  the  instruction  which  Jesus  im- 
parted to  his  apostles,  in  his  last  familiar  discourses  with  them, 
(John  xiv. — xvi.,)  respecting  the  manner  in  which  they  were  to 
labor  for  the  accomplishment  of  his  object  after  his  death. 
They  were  to  do  every  thing  in  public,  and  without  a  shrink- 
ing reserve.  They  were  not  to  hesitate,  should  they  be  com- 
plained of,  persecuted,  and  oppressed,  for  their  candid  and 
open  efforts.  They  were  to  remember  that  his  frankness  of 
action  had  drawn  down  upon  him  the  same  fate,  (John  xv. 
18 — 21,)  and  that  the  object  before  them  was  to  effect  a  radical 
improvement,  which  could  not  be  done  without  great  public 
commotion,  (John  xvi.  8 — 11.)  It  appears  even  that  Jesus 
intended  expressly  to  guard  his  followers  and  friends  against 
being  entangled  with  societies,  in  which  he  referred  to  some- 
thing secret  and  mysterious.  The  admonition  which  he  is 
known  to  have  given  them  against  believing  any,  who,  during 
the  last  calamitous  times  of  the  Jewish  state,  should  try  to 
persuade  them  that  Christ  was  here  or  there,  was  in  the  desert 
or  in  the  secret  places,  (Matt.  xxiv.  23 — 26,)  can  have  no  other 
meaning.  His  object  undoubtedly  was  to  make  his  followers 
suspicious  of  all  secret  institutions,  notwithstanding  they 
promised  great  things  and  excited  seducing  hopes.  Finally, 
the  declaration  which  Jesus  made,  respecting  himself,  before 
Annas  the  high  priest,  when  interrogated  as  to  his  disciples 
and  doctrines,  is  worthy  of  particular  attention.  Jesus  told 
him,  in  the  strongest  terms,  that  he  had  never  labored  in  a 
corner,  nor  taught  nor  attempted  any  thing  in  secret ;  that  he 


CHRISTIANITY   THE    REWARDER    OF    THE    SACRIFICED.     399 

had  delivered  his  instructions  in  the  synagogues  and  the  tem- 
ple, where  all  could  hear  him,  and  hence,  that  people  were  to 
be  found  in  every  place,  who  were  well  acquainted  with  what- 
ever he  had  said  or  done.     John  xviii.  19 — 21." 

Christ  came  to  teach  mankind  at  large  "  the  art  divine  which 
heals  each  lurking  ill."  He  opened  the  most  copious  sources 
of  lofty  thought  and  enraptured  emotion  ;  taught  the  clearest 
and  most  salutary  truths  ;  relieved  the  heaviest  woes ;  bene- 
fited the  greatest  numbers,  encountered  the  fiercest  hatreds, 
and  foremost  fell  the  fairest  victim  of  tyranny  in  the  sublime 
crisis  when 

"  He  seized  our  dreadful  right ;  the  load  susained, 
And  heaved  the  mountain  from  the  guilty  world." 

Secondly,  against  every  form  of  injustice,  Christianity  is  the 
mightiest  antagonist.  The  disciples  of  the  great  Redeemer 
are  never  to  forget  that  the  spiritual  sword  given  for  their  use 
must  not  be  laid  aside  so  long  as  truth  is  discarded  or  corrup- 
tions endure.  Theirs  is  a  great  and  holy  work,  incalcula- 
ble in  its  results  through  innumerable  generations :  but  it 
is  also  a  labor  of  toil  and  sorrow,  a  work  for  which  human 
sagacity  and  earthly  strength  are  insufficient ;  an  enterprise 
the  most  divine,  but  which  can  be  accomplished  only  by  re- 
sources perpetually  derived  from  God.  It  is  only  when 
thus  equipped,  that  men  can  resist  the  storms  of  life,  and 
the  potency  of  persecuting  falsehood,  feeling  that  a  sure 
foundation  is  laid  whereon  faith  is  to  stand  and  build,  beside 
which  no  other  basis  can  subsist.  The  one  is  everlasting  rock, 
the  other  transient  sand.  The  spirit  of  all  grace  sends  its  re- 
cipient first  to  Christ,  the  only  true  Teacher  and  Lawgiver,  and 
thence  perpetually  forward  to  Christ  the  Redeemer  and  Rec- 
onciler ;  to  him  who  not  only  says,  "  Thy  sins  are  forgiven 
thee,"  but  goes  even  unto  death  under  the  pure  impulse  of 
divine  love,  and  sheds  his  blood  that  all  the  world  may  have  a 
pledge  of  the  divine  mercy.     All  who  have  actually  received 


400  REPUBLICAN   CHRISTIANITY. 

into  their  mind  and  heart  this  new  treaty  of  peace  with  God, 
will  earnestly  desire  to  see  it  every  where  established  ;  that 
man,  abandoning  all  idea  of  merit  in  his  own  imperfect  works, 
may  surrender  himself  wholly  to  divine  love  as  manifested  in 
Christ,  and  receive  in  return  that  strength  of  heroical  consecra- 
tion, that  joys  in  all  the  struggles  of  merciful  justice,  and  which 
waits  not  for  commands,  but  does,  before  the  order  is  formally 
issued,  and,  if  possible,  more  than  its  letter  enjoins.  This 
mastery 

"  Means  but  communion,  the  power  to  quit 
Life's  little  globule  here,  and  coalesce 
"With  the  great  mass  about  us." 

The  spirit  of  Christ  is  preeminently  the  spirit  of  sacrifice, 
and  this,  wherever  found,  or  in  what  manner  soever  it  may 
be  manifested,  is  always  a  spirit  of  illumination.  It  is  born  of 
might  immortal,  a  spirit  kindred  with  the  angels ;  and  neither 
sky,  nor  night,  nor  earth,  nor  all  the  powers  of  darkness  com- 
bined, can  extinguish  its  vision  or  foreclose  its  final  triumph. 
No  one,  however  lowly  his  lot,  can  be  entirely  wanting  in 
knowledge  or  strength,  who  is  capable  of  irradiating  his  earthly 
path  with  the  light  of  divine  self-renouncement ;  and  this 
Christianity  in  its  most  lowly  votaries  is  sure  to  do.  Partici- 
pants of  the  power  of  the  cross  become  mighty  in  obedience ; 
each  one  labors  for  the  common  weal,  and  he  who  was  at  first 
full  of  infantile  weakness,  soon  grows  into  manly,  even  colos- 
sal proportions  with  whole  nations  in  his  mind.  His  soul  is 
such  a  harmony  of  light  and  heat,  such  a  union  of  thought 
and  courage  with  love,  that  he  has  a  heart  with  room  for  every 
sorrow  and  joy  of  humanity,  and  in  the  end  irresistibly  tri- 
umphs, however  formidable  the  obstacles  that  may  be  arrayed 
against  it ;  triumphs  not  because  it  is  thought,  not  because  it  is 
courage,  but  because  it  is  love,  that  love  which  waters  cannot 
quench  nor  floods  drown. 

The  good,  the  true,  and    the    lovely,  components    of  all 


CHRISTIANITY   THE    REWARDER   OF   THE    SACRIFICED.     401 

excellence,  form  an  harmonious  unity  in  God,  and  a  harmo- 
nious unity  in  the  universe  ;  and  Christianity,  in  its  ultimate 
development,  would  constitute  the  same  harmonious  unity  in 
man,  in  all  mankind.  This  is  the  divine  ideal  which  man,  a 
perfectible  being,  from  one  radiant  height  of  excellence  to 
another,  is  urged  onward  to  attain.  In  reference  to  this  sub- 
lime end,  every  era  of  persecution  that,  has  yet  smitten  our 
race  with  fierce  and  blasting  breath,  has  been  a  divine  neces- 
sity subordinated  to  progressive  emancipation,  and  has  thus 
accomplished  purposes  the  most  divine.  Born  in  Bethlehem, 
tempted  in  the  wilderness,  sweating  agony  in  the  garden, 
bleeding  on  Calvary,  bursting  victorious  from  the  confines  of 
death  and  hell,  holy  love  sacrificing  its  dearest  treasures  on 
behalf  of  Adam's  fallen  family,  has  ever  kindled  its  beneficent 
flame  to  consume  rising  oppressions,  and  to  serve  as  a  torch  to 
pioneer  auspiciously  a  perpetual  progress  towards  the  purer 
light  of  loftier  worlds.  In  every  past  age,  the  moral  heroes 
who  through  a  divine  growth  approximated  divine  perfections, 
prophesied  that  a  period  would  arrive  when  all  men  would 
attain  this  desired  consummation  by  similar  means.  Upborne 
by  that  hope  which  is  the  anchor  of  faith,  they  persevered  in 
their  glorious  enterprise,  till  the  weary  and  mangled  springs  of 
life  were  compelled  to  stand  still ;  but,  before  ascending  to  reap 
the  fields  of  immortality,  they  bequeathed  to  their  successors 
here  below  an  example  blissful  and  beautiful,  which  we  are  to 
imitate  as  the  only  means  of  attaining  loveliness,  and  joy  of 
soul  which  shall  never  fade.  They  were  the  sages  who  be- 
came perpetual  redeemers  by  lofty  ideas  and  lowly  deeds,  and 
who  fought  their  toilsome  way  step  by  step,  through  the  pro- 
cess necessary  to  be  traversed  by  all  who  would  supplant  the 
manifold  sophistries,  superstitions,  and  cruelties  that  meet  us 
on  every  hand.  They  trod  the  heavenly  paths  which  lead  and 
lure  souls  to  the  most  salubrious  heights,  making  the  feet  free 
and  swift  with  loving  alacrity  that  do  tread  in  them.  Impelled 
by  this  spirit,  and  panting  to  achieve  the  greatest  amount  of 
good,  the  disciple  stretches  his  strength  unto  its  greatest  limits 
34* 


402  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

on  behalf  of  the  greatest  number;  in  reaching  upward  for 
richer  fruit  to  feed  the  famished  multitudes  beneath,  he  loftier 
grows,  and  in  reaching  outward  to  distribute  blessings  among 
the  most  remote,  he  larger,  holier,  more  resplendent  grows. 
To  develop  himself  in  beneficent  actions  as  practical  as  they 
are  diversified,  and  to  live  only  for  the  general  good,  is  the 
master  purpose  of  his  heart,  his  hope,  his  nature's  sum  and 
end.  Born  of  God,  it  is  his  perpetual  luxury  to  feel  inflamed 
with  godlike  aspirations ;  to  glow  within  himself,  like  a  fire- 
opal,  and  to  shine  abroad  with  influences  more  ardent  and 
enduring  than  the  stars  —  the  most  potent  heat  and  pervading 
light,  even  like  the  sun,  "God's  crest  upon  his  azure  shield, 
the  heavens."  Love,  holy  and  all-embracing,  which  is  the 
soul  and  life  of  true  Christians,  they  pour  abroad  cloudlike,  to 
freshen  and  render  fruitful  every  parched  heart,  which  lonely 
and  arid  nook  of  immortality,  thus  refreshed  and  made  verdant 
from  life-seeds  beneficently  vitalized,  becomes  in  turn  the 
loveliest  scene  blooming  beneath  mortal  skies,  the  fairest  flower 
of  the  world's  garden, — 

"  So  sweet  and  pure, 
That  it  might  freshen  even  the  fadeless  wreaths 
'Twined  round  the  golden  harps  of  those  in  heaven." 

The  power  and  purpose  of  Christianity  were  foretold  by 
Isaiah  when  he  declared,  "  Every  valley  shall  be  exalted,  and 
every  mountain  and  hill  shall  be  made  low  ;  and  the  crooked 
shall  be  made  straight,  and  the  rough  places  plain."  And 
again,  "  Go  through,  go  through  the  gates ;  prepare  you  the 
way  of  the  people  ;  cast  up,  cast  up  the  highway ;  gather  out 
the  stones ;  lift  up  a  standard  for  the  people."  And  who  is  he 
who  reopens  every  closed  gateway,  levels  all  obstructions, 
breaks  all  bonds,  and  blesses  all  mankind  ?  Ah,  prophecy 
and  history  both  tell  us,  "  Behold,  thy  King  cometh  unto  thee, 
meek,  and  sitting  upon  an  ass,  and  a  colt  the  foal  of  an  ass." 
It  is  he,  the  crownless  Monarch  of  all  free  spirits,  himself  the 
most  divinely  invested  with  unostentatious  freedom,  save  when 


CHRISTIANITY   THE    REWARDER   OF    THE    SACRIFICED.      403 

the  world  forces  upon  him  its  bloody  regal  robes  ;  this  is  the 
champion  of  humanity,  who  opens  every  salutary  path,  and 
revolutionizes  every  pernicious  institution.  Long  anterior  to 
his  advent,  he  cried  to  the  world  through  the  evangelical 
prophet,  "  Open  ye  the  gates,  that  the  righteous  nation  which 
keepeth  the  truth  may  enter  in."  Science  could  not  enter ; 
power  could  not  enter ;  Nineveh,  Babylon,  Alexandria,  Gre- 
cian genius  and  Roman  force  could  not  enter  ;  but  the  Son  of 
man,  mounted  upon  the  foal  of  an  ass,  the  Maker  of  the  uni- 
verse, clothed  in  our  nature,  and  borne  by  the  most  lowly 
animal  of  earth,  will  enter,  has  entered,  and  will  pass  on, 
bearing  forward  humanity  in  its  ascending  progress  forever. 
It  is  Christian  truth  that  imparts  fortitude  to  traverse  deserts, 
scale  mountains,  and  encounter  the  most  terrific  storms  for 
the  good  of  mankind.  The  missionary  departs,  knowing  very 
well  that  he  has  but  a  few  years  or  months  to  live ;  but  the 
truth  he  proclaims  is  eternal,  and  this  truth  he  knows  will 
repay  him  infinitely  beyond  the  measure  of  time  and  ease  he 
has  sacrificed.  Their  goodness  of  head  and  heart  is  not  a  mere 
abstraction,  but  a  beatitude  practically  exemplified  in  deeds  of 
peacefulness  and  kindness  toward  all  their  associates  in  a  com- 
mon strife.  Their  faith  sweeps  the  future  like  a  glass,  reads 
clearly  the  events  of  Providence  as  they  come  full  freighted 
with  unfolding  destiny  ;  and  this  faith,  harmonious  with  the 
hands  it  employs,  works  incessantly  to  promote  the  widest  and 
happiest  weal.  Thus  every  child  produced  and  upheld  by  the 
God  of  might,  not  only  loves  and  lives  on  beneficent  power, 
but  accomplishes  the  grand  end  of  his  existence  by  subduing 
moral  evils  through  moral  good,  and  making  the  highest  con- 
quests to  be  at  once  the  joy  and  reward  of  life. 

"  For  every  tear  by  pity  shed 
Upon  a  fellow-sufferer's  head, 
O,  be  a  crown  of  glory  given ; 
Such  crowns  as  saints  to  gain  have  striven  — 
Such  crowns  as  seraphs  wear  in  heaven." 

The  greatest  benefactors  of  our  race  have  not  been  those 


404  v  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

of  illustrious  birth,  but  the  humble  artificers  of  a  glorious  life ; 
men  who,  having  risen  to  great  truths,  the  perennial  growth 
of  the  grandest  principles,  have  held  them  as  a  sacred  trust  for 
mankind,  and  have  borne  witness  to  them  amidst  the  greatest 
darkness,  in  the  face  of  most  persecuting  scorn,  and  often 
being  obliged  to  suffer  the  most  cruel  death.  But  their  post- 
humous influence,  like  the  progressive  power  of  their  active 
life,  tends  still  to  diffuse  most  widely  an  example  that  enlight- 
ens, and  doctrines  that  redeem.  For  example,  the  council  of 
Constance,  who  had  previously  burned  John  Huss,  ordered 
the  body  of  Wickliffe  to  be  dug  up  and  burnt,  and  his  ashes 
cast  into  a  neighboring  stream,  which,  as  Fuller  in  his  Church 
History  quaintly  says,  "  conveyed  his  ashes  into  the  Avon, 
Avon  into  the  Severn,  Severn  into  the  narrow  seas,  these  into 
the  main  ocean ;  and  thus  the  ashes  of  Wickliffe  are  the  em- 
blem of  his  doctrine,  which  now  is  dispersed  all  the  world 
over."  Men  of  this  stamp  stand  firm  and  undismayed  in  times 
that  most  severely  test  the  purity  and  durability  of  Christian 
allegiance.  They  show  themselves  at  all  times  to  be  honest 
and  true-hearted,  ready  to  act  with  firm  reliance  on  the  arm 
that  built  the  pillars  of  the  universe ;  and  if  they  are  opposed 
by  sanguinary  or  vindictive  laws,  they  imbibe  "  a  vigor  beyond 
the  law,"  calmly  meet  and  brave  the  storm,  and  court  the 
horrors  of  martyrdom  rather  than  share  the  infinitely  more 
frightful  horrors  of  recreancy  to  truth,  and  treason  to  the  best 
interests  of  mankind.  They  are  willing  to  let  ruin  bury  ruin, 
while,  as  the  children  of  light,  it  is  their  business  to  diffuse 
intelligence  on  the  highest  subjects  at  any  cost ;  and  for  this 
purpose  they  soar  and  shine  in  exalted  influences  which  wing 
their  way  through  widening  space  forever,  and  endure  as 
eagles  outlive  insects. 

That  man  will  surely  be  venerated,  who,  if  need  be,  flinches 
not  from  becoming  a  martyr ;  who  says,  under  gloomiest  aus- 
pices, "  I  will  give  my  voice  openly,  and  do  my  duty  boldly,  in 
spite  of  greatness,  tyranny,  and  death."  But  posterity  will 
revere  his  worth  still  more  if  he  does  not  endeavor  to  involve 


CHRISTIANITY   THE    REWARDER    OF    THE    SACRIFICED.      405 

others  in  martyrdom  with  himself;  if,  while  standing  forth  most 
palpable  to  the  peltings  of  the  pitiless  storm,  he  yet  pleads  for 
others,  that  the  injury  which  he  defies  may  be  escaped  by 
them,  that  the  weak  shall  not  be  crushed  because  he  is  strong, 
and  not  a  spark  of  hope  be  extinguished  because  in  his  bosom 
the  full,  free  flame  is  burning  brightly.  It  is  a  spirit  which 
responds  to  the  minions  of  murderous  power,  as  did  its  Author 
to  his  murderers,  "  If  ye  seek  me,  here  I  am ;  let  these  go 
their  way."  This  self-oblivion  and  sacrifice  for  others  most  of 
all  exalts  the  character ;  it  blends  beautifully  with  the  grandest 
energies,  and  makes  the  most  resolute  hero  tenderly  feel 
toward  the  timid  and  helpless,  while  he  himself  is  superior  to 
all  compromise,  and  goes  straight  to  the  direst  issues  with 
the  boldest  decision.  These  are  the  "salt  of  the  earth,  the 
virtuous  few  who  season  human  kind."  The  puny  and  selfish 
potentates  of  earth  may  sue  for  slavedoms  and  win  them,  but 
emancipators  and  benefactors  like  these  will  live  in  perpetually 
augmented  glory,  "  when  tyrants1  crests  and  tombs  of  brass 
are  spent."  They  are  true  heroes,  garlanded  with  the  unwith- 
ering  flowers  of  heaven,  crowned  with  sunny  jewels,  —  crys- 
tallized tears  wept  by  the  blessed  on  earth  in  grateful  joy, — 
clad  in  light  derived  from  the  throne  of  ineffable  glory,  and 
girded  with  the  lightnings  which  scath  all  injustice  and  sunder 
every  bond. 

•'  The  world  must  have  great  minds,  even  as  great  spheres 
Or  suns,  to  govern  lesser,  restless  minds, 
While  they  stand  still  and  burn  with  life,  to  keep 
Them  in  their  places,  and  light  and  heat  them." 

It  is  a  sad  thing  to  see  the  torch  which  should  illumine  the 
altar  employed  to  kindle  fagots  around  the  stake,  and  the  soul 
of  the  persecutor  become  as  ferocious  as  the  immolation  of  the 
victim  is  devout.  But  such  things  have  been,  and  may  yet  be. 
Mahomet  II.  had  an  Icoglan  decapitated  for  the  purpose  of  giv- 
ing a  painter  an  idea  of  life ;  and  many  a  mad  fanatic  has 
exhibited  the  life  of  religion  in  much  the  same  way.  But,  de- 
spite all  the  manglings  Christianity  has  sufFered,  she  still  lives 


406  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

in  the  fulness  of  her  beneficent  power,  teaching  all  true  disci- 
ples from  the  foot  of  her  altars  to  address  hymns  to  misfortune, 
exhortations  that  shall  impart  vigor  to  the  weary,  and  pour  balm 
upon  every  wounded  heart.  It  is  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Christ 
which  teaches  all  whom  it  can  reach  that  there  is  no  just  law 
against  duty;  and  all  persons,  youthful,  enslaved,  or  superan- 
nuated, may  say  to  every  invader  on  the  domain  of  rights 
inherent  in  each  soul,  as  Pius  VII.  said  to  Napoleon,  "  Sire,  I 
can  yield  to  you  my  goods,  but  I  cannot  surrender  to  you  my 
obligations  ;  I  can  greatly  love  you,  admire  you,  even  give  my 
life  to  you,  but  I  cannot  yield  you  my  conscience  ;  I  can  even, 
O  emperor,  sacrifice  for  your  sake  all  earthly  things,  but  not 
my  soul ;  for  my  soul  is  eternity,  and  eternity  is  more  than 
God  ;  it  is  man  and  God  all  together."  Armed  with  this  cour- 
age, the  product  and  glory  of  the  cross,  the  feeblest  woman 
will  say,  in  unshrinking  fortitude,  as  did  the  noble  victim  of  the 
bigoted  Edward, — 

"  My  death  the  Lord  may  make  a  way 
To  advance  his  gracious  purpose  to  this  land; 
They'll  see  a  delicate,  timid  woman 
Lay  down  her  cheerful  head  upon  the  block, 
As  on  a  silken  pillow ;  when  they  know 
'Twas  Christ  that  even  at  that  dread  hour  rebuked 
"Weak  nature's  fears ;  returning  home,  they'll  kneel, 
And  seek  that  power  that  turns  our  death  to  triumph." 

The  intelligent  and  patriotic  Christian  loves  peace,  cautiously 
guards  against  disorder,  most  of  all  men  hates  anarchy  and 
war.  But  he  at  the  same  time  knows  that  the  violent  remedy 
of  an  hour,  though  it  pain  us  to  the  quick,  and  fearfully  ex- 
hausts our  strength,  is  better  than  the  perpetual  prostration  of 
disease.  If  the  remedy  of  water  or  fire,  in  the  most  trying  yet 
renovating  shapes,  is  our  only  resource,  let  it  come.  If  it  is  a 
remedy  indeed,  surely  it  must  be  just  and  well-timed,  a  boon 
greatly  to  be  desired  for  the  rich  blessings  it  will  produce.  The 
sluggish  fever  that  has  long  been  latent  in  the  system,  oppress- 
ing and  destroying  its  best  energies,  had  much  better  kindle 


CHRISTIANITY   THE    REWARDER    OF    THE    SACRIFICED.      407 

into  a  preternatural  heat,  the  first  token  of  a  radical  cure  and 
the  first  breath  of  real  health,  than  collapse  into  helpless  inan- 
ity, the  presage  and  commencement  of  lingering  death.  This 
condition  of  the  body  politic  characterized  that  period  of  the 
Christian  church  when  the  divine  dispensation  of  grace  and 
truth  seemed  to  have  reached  the  earth  in  vain  ;  a  period  when 
superstition  and  priestcraft  debased  and  inthralled  the  free- 
born  spirit  of  man,  not  only  causing  the  whips  of  tyranny  to 
ring  on  the  backs  of  their  victims,  but  binding  the  most  cruel 
and  corroding  chains  on  the  brain  and  bosom  of  the  beggared 
and  buffeted  populace,  trampled  on  like  dogs.  The  book  of 
life  was  closed  against  the  humble  votary  of  religion  by 
"  destruction's  sceptred  slaves,  and  folly's  mitred  brood,"  while 
the  volume  of  nature,  by  the  same  bigotry,  was  interdicted  to 
the  adventurous  votary  of  science,  and  non-subscription  to 
falsehood  was  punished  by  the  most  cruel  tortures  and  death. 
The  darkness  of  that  era  has  mainly  passed  away,  but  there 
are  yet  those  who  would  interdict  the  pages  of  reason  and  rev- 
elation to  the  common  eye,  if  they  do  not  forbid  philosophy 
freely  to  explore  the  wonders  of  creation.  But  Christianity, 
when  allowed  to  declare  the  first  right  and  highest  obligation 
of  her  devotees,  insists  that  human  thought,  redeemed  by  the 
light  of  revelation  and  blended  with  its  glorious  splendor,  shall 
go  forth  under  the  whole  canopy  of  heaven,  to  proclaim  to  all 
mankind  the  wisdom,  power,  and  goodness,  of  their  Father, 
God.  Such  a  proclamation  is  destined  to  teach  every  where 
that  the  true  homage  of  unshackled  hearts  has  no  prescribed 
locality  ;  that  acceptable  worship  has  no  stereotyped  form  ;  and 
that  the  gracious  Being  we  adoringly  serve  fills  all  space,  sup- 
plies all  the  necessities  of  time,  and  will  cause  all  who  suffer 
for  the  truth's  sake  here  to  participate  with  him  hereafter  in  all 
the  glories  of  eternity.  As  a  fitting  support  under  present 
hardships,  and  a  cheering  preparative  to  the  final  fruition  on 
high,  Christ  ever  speaks  soothingly  to  his  faithful  servants, 
saying,— 


408  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

"Think  on  noble  thoughts  and  deeds 
Ever ;  count  o'er  the  rosary  of  truth, 
And  practise  precepts  which  are  proven  wise. 
It  matters  not,  then,  what  thou  fearest.     "Walk 
Boldly  and  wisely  in  that  light  thou  hast ; 
There  is  a  hand  above  will  help  thee  on." 

Says  the  late  Mr.  Hamilton,  "  The  convict  labor  and  hire- 
ling tasks  of  the  alien  and  bondman  are  exchanged  for  the 
free-will  offerings  and  affectionate  services  of  a  son  and  a 
disciple.  Reconciled  to  God,  he  is  reconciled  to  every  thing 
which  comes  from  God ;  and,  full  of  the  love  of  Christ,  he 
courts  every  thing  which  he  can  do  for  Christ.  l  Come,  labor, 
for  I  rather  love  thee  now.  Come,  hard  work  and  long  work, 
I  am  in  a  mood  for  you  now.  Come,  trials  and  crosses,  for  I 
can  carry  you  now.  Come,  death,  for  I  am  ready  for  thee 
now.'  His  relation  to  Christ  has  put  him  in  a  new  relation  to 
every  thing  else  ;  and  the  same  fountain  which  has  washed  the 
stain  from  his  conscience  having  washed  the  scales  from  his 
eyes,  an  inundation  of  light  and  of  beauty  bursts  in  from  the 
creation  around  him,  which  hitherto  was  to  him  as  much  an 
unknown  universe  as  its  Creator  was  the  unknown  God  ;  and 
the  boundless  inflowings  of  peaceful  images,  and  happy  im- 
pressions, and  strong  consolations,  dilate  his  soul  with  an  elas- 
ticity, an  enterprise,  and  courage,  as  new  as  they  are  divine. 
He  has  found  a  Savior,  and  his  soul  is  happy.  The  Lord 
Jesus  is  his  friend  ;  and  his  spirit,  once  so  frigid,  is  become  a 
fervent  spirit.  His  new  views  have  made  him  a  new  man.'" 
It  is  the  office  of  Christianity  to  unite  our  existence  and  ambi- 
tion in  the  highest  sense  with  the  life  and  purposes  of  God,  not 
simply  by  a  necessity  or  a  desire,  but  by  an  efficacious  reality, 
by  the  transformation  of  our  being  into  the  splendor  of  his 
own.  It  was  comparatively  easy  for  Prometheus  to  aspire  to 
heaven,  and  to  lay  his  hand  upon  the  sacred  fire  ;  but,  to  his 
sorrow,  he  learned  that  the  flame  he  coveted  burned  when 
stolen.  It  is  other  fire,  and  for  yet  loftier  uses,  we  desire  to 
possess,  and,  in  the  great  Mediator,  may  abundantly  obtain. 
God  is  light  and  holiness  infinite  and  impartial :   possessing 


CHRISTIANITY   THE    REWARDER    OF    THE    SACRIFICED.      409 

these  treasures,  it  was  no  small  thing  for  him  to  draw  near  and 
blend  them  with  the  faculties  of  the  feeble,  the  debased,  and 
the  lost.  It  is  no  small  thing  to  receive  God  into  our  intelli- 
gence to  enlarge  it,  into  our  heart  to  purify  it,  and  into  our 
senses  to  regulate  their  deranged  potency  and  sanctify  their 
irregular  use,  thus  uniting  two  natures  so  disproportioned  in  a 
blessed  oneness  eternal  and  divine.  This  union,  first  realized 
in  Christ,  and,  by  the  grace  of  God,  reproduced  in  every  true 
believer,  is  accompanied  by  an  energetic  force,  a  virtue  truly 
sublime,  which  is  wise  to  subdue  the  spirit  of  man  to  the  spirit 
of  God,  without  causing  the  human  spirit  to  lose  its  personality 
and  freedom  in  the  divine  Spirit ;  which  transports  the  heart 
of  its  subject  to  an  impassioned  love  of  the  invisible,  and  there 
perpetually  recreates  it  with  undecaying  joys,  subjugates  carnal 
desires,  emancipates  thought,  wings  the  soul  redeemed  from 
the  lowest  degradation,  and  bears  him  through  unfolding  glo- 
ries to  the  otherwise  inaccessible  heights  of  divinity.  This 
heavenly  influence  descends  graciously  on  those  who  receive 
it  and  are  saved,  and  on  those  who  reject  it  and  are  destroyed. 
As  the  dew  descends  upon  the  heart  of  a  poisonous  flower,  the 
same  as  where  the  rosebud  bends  upon  the  lily's  breast,  God 
also  causes  goodness  and  truth  to  be  diffused  copiously  even  on 
those  who  most  maliciously  pervert  the  blessings  they  enjoy. 
Constantly  does  Christianity  woo  to  herself  souls  from  the 
remotest  sides  of  our  earthly  horizon  ;  while,  throned  serenely 
and  majestically  amidst  central  glories  on  high,  she  confirms 
the  doubting,  fortifies  the  feeble,  delivers  the  oppressed,  ac- 
knowledges the  utility  of  reason  without  accepting  its  yoke, 
enlightens  and  elevates  without  annihilating  nature,  the  mother, 
sister,  and  daughter  of  truth,  God  and  man  coalesced,  impel- 
ling with  a  firm  and  equal  step  the  generations  of  mankind 
toward  a  brightening  future,  improved  institutions,  and  ever- 
lasting joys. 

To  render  its  disciple  chaste,  humble,  fraternal,  and  apos- 
tolic, Christian  doctrine  has  taken  its  point  of  support  aside 
from  man ;  it  has  found  it  in  God.     It  is  in  the  divine  name, 
35 


410  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

by  force  of  that  relationship  it  has  created  between  him  and 
ourselves,  by  the  efficacy  of  his  precepts  and  the  ordinances 
connected  with  pure  adoration,  that  our  rebellious  spirit  is 
changed  into  virtuous  docility,  reanimated,  purified,  trans- 
formed, clothed  with  the  glory  of  Tabor,  and  then,  being  thus 
armed  from  head  to  foot,  is  cast  as  a  newly-formed  hero  into 
the  battle  of  life,  feeble  yet  by  nature,  but  energized  with  per- 
petual resources  from  Omnipotence,  incessantly  aspiring  after 
the  loftiest  wisdom,  and  as  perpetually  antagonizing  with  all 
forms  of  injustice  with  the  mightiest  strength.  Such  are  the 
causes  and  consequences  of  every  true  conversion.  The  hu- 
mility, chastity,  love,  and  all  those  internal  exaltations  which 
result  from  the  transfiguring  power  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  are  pro- 
duced by  that  fire  from  heaven's  sublimest  altar,  given  to  con- 
sume all  false  virtues  that  oppose  ;  that  sacred  flame  which 
alone  is  competent  to  burn  each  proud  spot  and  lustful  passion 
from  the  heart.  Without  this  religion,  the  key  to  blissful 
mansions,  and  prompter  to  heroical  benevolence,  there  can  be 
no  communion  with  God,  no  conquest  over  injustice  on  earth, 
and  no  sure  foundation  for  heavenly  peace.  But,  under  the 
perfection  of  its  benign  sway,  humanity  will  come  at  length  to 
possess  the  amplest  freedom  and  the  holiest  joys.  Mightier  and 
more  beneficent  than  Orpheus  or  Amphion,  Christianity,  in  the 
ultimate  development  of  truth,  the  glorious  melody  of  love 
from  her  simple  and  entrancing  lyre,  will  build  of  our  globe  a 
divine  Thebes  of  men,  where  injustice  never  wrongs  and  fet- 
ters never  bind.  Thus  to  be  inspired,  guided,  sustained,  and 
rewarded,  is  to  live  under  the  protection  of  Him  who  made  the 
whole  universe  at  one  thought  as  at  a  glance,  and  who  infuses 
much  of  his  own  immensities  into  every  true-hearted  devotee. 
In  this  world  they  receive  a  hundred  fold,  with  the  infinitely 
higher  destiny  guarantied  to  them  of  a  final  home  forever 

"  Amid  the  august  and  never-dying  light 
Of  constellated  spirits,  who  have  gained 
A  name  in  heaven  by  power  of  heavenly  deeds." 

In  the  third  place,  Christianity,  which,  as  we  have  seen,  has 


CHRISTIANITY   THE    REWARDER    OF    THE    SACRIFICED.     411 

ever  been  the  fairest  and  foremost  victim  of  tyranny,  and  the 
mightiest  antagonist  to  every  form  of  injustice,  is  the  most 
glorious  rewarder  of  all  devotees  for  her  sake  sacrificed. 
Christ  glorified  martyrdom,  and  caused  it  to  be  the  object  of 
profound  veneration,  when  encountered  in  a  just  cause.  Be- 
fore the  advent  of  the  great  Redeemer,  the  world  was  incapa- 
ble of  appreciating  the  pure  morality  of  martyr  sacrifice  which 
he  taught  in  every  action  of  his  life,  and  sealed  by  his  death. 
The  brave  and  yet  quiet  manner  in  which  this  doctrine  was 
inculcated,  is  as  worthy  of  observation  as  is  its  intrinsic  worth. 
Divine  precepts  teach  us  to  be  good,  true,  and  beneficent,  with- 
out a  ceaseless  struggle  so  to  appear.  The  divine  example 
shows  us  how  we  ought  to  burst  through  all  artificial  restraints, 
cumbrous  conventional  trammels,  and  cast  ourselves  with  the 
utmost  freedom  into  the  hands  of  Providence,  to  live  or  die,  as 
may  be  best  for  human  improvement  and  the  glory  of  God. 
It  is  thus  that  we  become  divinely  qualified  for  usefulness,  and 
are  religious  in  the  highest  degree,  and  yet  with  a  noiseless 
manifestation,  as  the  sun  shines,  dew  falls,  trees  and  flowers 
unfold  their  leaves  in  spring. 

To  this  grand  end,  in  the  first  place,  Christianity  provides 
adequate  means,  by  bestowing  on  the  devoted  disciple  the 
inexhaustible  resources  of  peaceful  fortitude.  If  the  heart  be 
enslaved,  the  soul  can  never  be  free.  Whatever  manacles  we 
may  escape  beside,  with  the  power  of  sin  still  binding  us,  we 
but  "  wear  the  name  of  freedom,  graven  on  a  heavier  chain." 
It  is  soul  freedom  alone  that  is  the  mother  of  valuable  thought, 
making  a  Christian  to  be  the  highest  style  of  man.  The  true 
disciples  of  Christ  are  the  blessed  spirits  radically  and  eternally 
disinthralled,  by  the  mode  of  their  emancipation  divinely  qual- 
ified to  act  the  part  of  redeemers  every  where  ;  "  and  all  are 
slaves  beside."  It  is  only  when  we  are  calm  that  we  can  see 
clearly  ;  and,  as  the  double  basis  of  most  perfect  wisdom  and 
purest  bliss,  Christ's  consummating  gift  to  his  followers,  were  the 
earnests  of  his  own  untroubled  peace.  This  he  knew  is  most 
requisite  to  that  perfect  freedom  of  mind,  through  the  develop- 


412  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

merit  of  which,  in  inward  reflection,  matter  and  mind  are  interro- 
gated, the  highest  knowledge  is  revealed,  and  every  useful  aid  is 
estimated  as  well  as  secured.  Thus  conditioned,  the  conscience 
of  the  understanding  keeps  itself  awake  with  the  moral  con- 
science, and  the  heroicai  spirit,  at  one  with  God  and  man,  time  and 
eternity,  is  prepared  without  dismay  to  examine  self,  commune 
with  self,  adorns  with  the  highest  virtues  his  internal  dwelling- 
place,  makes  his  own  bosom  the  residence  of  unsurpassed 
happiness  and  the  inexhaustible  fountain  of  unlimited  benefits. 
He  receives  truth  into  a  pure  and  fearless  soul,  diffuses  light 
through  a  transparent  medium,  sows  earth  with  the  seeds  of 
all  excellence,  and  pours  on  all  the  distressed  solace  and  sal- 
vation mighty  and  enduring  as  the  eternal  throne. 

"  The  freebom  Christian  has  no  chains  to  prove ; 
Or  if  a  chain,  the  golden  one  of  love  : 
No  fear  attends  to  quench  his  glowing  fires : 
What  fear  he  feels  his  gratitude  inspires." 

As  vacancy  of  heart  is  the  source  of  painful  agitation,  Chris- 
tianity comes  to  refresh  and  fill  it  with  those  gentle  affections 
and  generous  sentiments  which  compose  and  strengthen  the 
understanding,  perpetually  giving  birth  to  the  serene  thoughts 
and  beneficent  deeds  which  are  the  emanations  and  proofs  of 
celestial  purity.  The  labor  of  reflection  is  best  facilitated  by 
internal  quietude ;  and  hence  there  have  been  so  few  really 
great  minds,  because  it  is  rare  that  we  meet  with  those  who  are 
eminently  pure  of  heart.  It  is  only  the  taught  and  sanctified 
of  God  who  can  penetrate  the  meaning  of  the  celebrated 
oracle  of  Delphi,  "Know  thyself;"  and  they  who  at  the  foot 
of  the  cross  most  feel  their  weakness,  will  be  most  filled  with 
power.  Thus  from  our  feebleness,  experienced  and  bemoaned, 
grace  educes  and  confirms  the  greatest  strength  ;  as  from  the 
acorn,  driven  before  the  wind  to  root  itself  in  genial  soil,  springs 
an  oak  which  the  mightiest  storm  can  scarcely  bend. 

Christian  doctrine  ever  tends  to  produce  the  three  moral 
conditions  which  most  of  all  conspire  to  develop  the  best  fac- 


CHRISTIANITY    THE    REWARDER    OF    THE    SACRIFICED.      413 

ulties  of  the  soul :  first,  the  greatest  freedom  of  mind,  which, 
self-acting  and  self-directing,  penetrates  every  where,  seeking 
more  serviceable  elements  to  be  moulded  into  loftier  combina- 
tions, mightier  munitions  within  as  well  as  without,  like  the 
bee,  drawing  wealth  and  sweetness  from  every  flower ;  sec- 
ondly, that  refinement  of  taste  and  symmetry  of  spirit,  which 
lead  us  to  seize  upon  those  relationships  which  are  most  natu- 
ral, comprehensive,  and  heavenly,  in  all  things  seeking  the 
greatest  mutual  harmony  and  the  greatest  general  good  ; 
thirdly,  that  energy  of  character,  which  collects  and  concen- 
trates all  diversified  agencies,  and  with  a  divine  grandeur  of 
purpose  producing  an  invincible  potency,  not  less  majestic  than 
practical,  and  at  every  hazard  perpetually  employed  to  crush 
the  oppressiveness  of  infernal  wrongs.  Without  this  freedom, 
which  the  gospel  alone  can  confer,  the  spirit  of  man  never 
reaches  that  high  love  it  was  designed  to  attain,  nor  executes 
the  deeds  which  it  is  his  greatest  glory  to  perform.  But  under 
its  influence,  the  sterile  intellect  and  heart  are  made  simulta- 
neously to  produce  the  purest  sentiments,  which  are  themselves 
the  strongest  motives ;  as  the  rock,  struck  by  Moses,  satiated 
the  thirst  and  fortified  the  limbs  of  famishing  multitudes.  All 
truth  as  it  is  in  Christ,  exactly  so  far  as  it  is  known  and  felt, 
becomes  a  moral  force  which  acts.  The  best  principles  may 
be  forever  talked  about  and  curiously  analyzed  without  gener- 
ating in  the  spectator  energy  enough  to  reduce  one  of  them  to 
practice  ;  indeed,  this  is  most  frequently  seen.  But  true  doc- 
trine is  always  practical  force ;  it  is  the  vir  within  us ;  makes 
the  heroical  possessor  to  deserve  the  inscription  cut  by  the 
ancients  on  the  pedestal  whereon  stood  the  statue  of  a  cele- 
brated benefactor :  Vir,  a  man  !  When  the  Spartans  at  Ther- 
mopylae in  their  hearts  prepared  themselves  to  die  for  the 
salvation  of  Greece,  they  inscribed  upon  the  overhanging 
crags  of  the  famous  pass  these  words:  "Traveller,  go  tell 
Sparta  that  we  lie  dead  here  in  obedience  to  her  sacred  laws." 
Then,  embracing  each  other  for  the  last  time,  and  binding  gar- 
lands of  young  branches  around  their  brows  as  ready  sacrifices 
35* 


414  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

on  the  altar  of  freedom,  they  rushed  to  universal  immolation, 
exclaiming,  "  Rocks,  fields,  and  mountains,  ye  will  remain  !  " 
They  died  to  leave  the  domain  of  freedom  behind ;  and  .why 
should  they  fear  death  standing  in  front  ?  A  messenger  from 
Marathon,  mangled  and  exhausted  with  the  battle,  the  result  of 
which  he  was  despatched  to  proclaim  in  Athens,  ran  cheerfully 
till  the  last  throbbings  of  strength  were  spent,  and  fell  at  the 
foot  of  his  country's  altar,  crying,  with  death-struck  lips  yet 
quivering  in  extatic  joy,  "  Victory  !  "  Such  is  the  spirit  of 
unflinching  fortitude,  which  Christianity,  in  forms  infinitely 
nobler  than  these,  tends  constantly  to  generate  and  employ. 

"We  said  above,  that,  in  teaching  martyr-morality,  Christ 
bestowed  on  his  disciples  the  divinest  peace,  as  the  chief  cause 
and  support  of  persisting  endurance  in  his  service.  We  pro- 
ceed to  remark,  secondly,  that  he  at  the  same  time  showed  how 
we  are  best  employed  when  we  are  obliged  to  incur  the  most 
trying  sacrifice  in  giving  the  highest  and  widest  freedom  to 
mankind.  All  mind  is  created  for  improvement  through 
instruction  ;  hence  education  is  a  universal  want.  The  soul 
of  man  forever  pants  after  this  invaluable  boon ;  his  faculties 
of  thought  and  will  are  fitted  for  nothing  else.  When  a  child 
is  born,  under  any  meridian,  with  whatever  hue,  a  mightier 
result  is  produced  than  the  formation  of  worlds.  These  see 
not  their  own  light,  feel  not  their  own  grandeur,  and  must  soon 
perish.  But  the  soul  is  immortal,  and  will  eternally  glow  with 
inextinguishable  and  constantly  augmented  emotions  of  weal 
or  woe.  As  in  the  incipient  process  of  primitive  creation  God 
said,  "  Let  there  be  light,"  and  moulded  the  universe  amid 
increasing  splendors,  so  around  the  latent  germs  of  every 
rational  creature,  stamped  with  his  image,  endowed  for  eternity, 
God,  in  all  his  works,  in  all  his  word,  with  the  full  almightiness 
of  his  spirit,  cries,  "Let  there  be  light!"  —  let  this  mind  be 
matured  in  symmetry,  purity,  and  strength,  to  fly  like  a  seraph 
toward  heaven.  Naturalists  tell  us  that  if  a  bird's  beak  is  tied 
and  his  wings  are  broken,  he  can  still  live  and  breathe  through 
the  broken  bones ;  but  in  the  name  of  humanity  we  beg,  give 


CHRISTIANITY    THE    REWARDER   OF    THE    SACRIFICED.      415 

the  bird  an  open  mouth,  give  him  unmutilated  wings,  to  sing 
his  free  song  and  fly  an  exalted  flight,  as  the  God  of  love 
designed. 

The  human  mind  every  where,  groping  along  the  entrance 
path  to  immortality,  responds  to  the  highest  questionings,  like 
poor  blind  Bartimeus,  "  Lord,  that  I  may  receive  sight !  "  Ed- 
ucation is  like  the  sword  of  Goliath,  concerning  which  David 
said  to  Abimelech,  "  There  is  none  like  that ;  give  it  to  me." 
Every  mind,  in  every  place,  to  some  extent  feels  this  want. 
Many  of  the  benighted  feel  it  acutely,  and  pray,  with  the 
rugged  warrior  encompassed  by  preternatural  night,  — 

"  Disperse  this  cloud,  the  light  of  heaven  restore ; 
Give  me  to  see,  and  I  will  ask  no  more." 

As  education  is  man's  greatest  want,  our  Savior  gave  the 
strongest  emphasis  to  his  parting  command,  "  Go  teach ! " 
When  the  down-trodden  are  visitited  in  mercy,  and  by  benefi- 
cent instruction  are  made  to  partake  of  the  more  than  necta- 
rian  sweets  of  knowledge,  the  stimulated  and  enraptured  soul 
exclaims,  like  Homer's  giant,  quaffing  from  the  goblets  of 
Ulysses,  "  More,  give  me  more !  " 

That  which  the  nature  of  the  soul  and  the  results  of  sin 
constitute  a  universal  want,  Christianity  makes  a  universal 
duty  and  right.  As  I  am  born  with  the  want,  so  I  inherit  the 
right.  That  which  corresponds  with  my  first  and  greatest 
necessity  is  education;  that  which  I  and  all  men  inherit  as  the 
first  privilege  to  be  enjoyed,  is  the  right  of  receiving  and 
imparting  instruction.  The  tyrant  of  antiquity  who  ordered 
the  tables  of  the  law  to  be  hung  so  high  that  they  could  not  be 
read,  and  then  punished  with  severity  the  offences  which  re- 
sulted from  a  necessary  ignorance,  was  merciful  compared 
with  those  who  would  extinguish  all  improvement,  and  yet  hold 
their  victims  accountable  for  their  degradation. 

It  is  by  being  taught  fully  in  the  elements  of  political  and 
moral  justice  that  man  is  rendered  competent  to  judge  and  act 
for  himself.    And  this  is  clearly  an  inalienable  right;  else  why 


416  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

that  natural  impatience  of  control,  that  admiration  for  those 
who  sacrifice  themselves  at  the  altar  of  liberty,  which  all  feel, 
and  which  would  be  useless  passions,  and  without  any  corre- 
spondent aim,  had  not  God  made  us  for  self-government.  More 
than  this,  the  divinest  qualities  we  possess  constitute  but  an 
incredible  artifice  of  Nature  to  reduce  us  from  the  path  of 
legitimate  obedience,  and  subject  us  to  the  accumulated  evils 
of  the  worst  tyranny,  if  soul  development  be  not  our  first 
privilege,  and  free  action  the  ground  of  our  eternal  doom. 
Each  mortal,  through  the  healthful  exercise  of  all  his  physical 
and  intellectual  powers,  is  to  be  made  conscious  of  immortality, 
and  that  he  has  been  already  crowned  with  a  portion  of  that  sov- 
ereignty which  was  conquered  for  the  world  by  Emanuel,  who 
poured  out  his  soul  unto  death,  that  in  the  vicarious  sacrifice 
he  might  breathe  a  vital  air  through  all  our  faculties,  regen- 
erate the  depraved,  enlighen  the  benighted,  and  raise  the  dead. 
Such  is  Christianity ;  it  creates  liberty,  equality,  fraternity,  as 
its  legitimate  fruit,  and  is  by  necessity  destructive  to  tyranny 
of  every  type  and  degree.  It  brings  into  view  the  multitudes 
so  long  obscured  and  savagely  oppressed,  softens  their  re- 
venge, moderates  their  counsels,  and  ennobles  their  action.  It 
is  divine  truth  only  that  can  effectually  transform  the  heart, 
clarify  the  vision,  and  rectify  the  judgment  of  mankind  ;  and 
this  it  does  accomplish  best,  because  of  all  instruction  it  most 
clearly  shows  that  whatever  is  opposed  to  equality  and  freedom 
is  impious  and  abhorrent  before  our  Father  in  heaven.  This 
was  the  grand  lesson  which  was  announced  to  all  men  in 
Bethlehem,  reiterated  itself  on  the  lake  shore,  on  the  mount, 
in  social  joy  as  well  as  garden  gloom,  and  was  finally  con- 
summated on  Calvary's  cross.  Our  elder  brother  is  a  Savior 
indeed,  a  Monarch  divine ;  but  never  did  he  bind  a  faculty  or 
enslave  a  limb.  He  lived  and  died  that  he  might  liberate,  and 
was  royal  only  to  save. 

"  The  crown  he  wore  was  of  the  pointed  thorn ; 
In  purple  he  was  crucified,  not  born." 


CHRISTIANITY   THE    REWARDER    OF    THE    SACRIFICED.      417 

Freedom  desires  to  be  conquered ;  and  it  is  remarkable  that 
every  where,  ever  since  Christ,  she  has  been  primarily  indebted 
to  the  generous  efforts  of  some  artisan,  always  the  first  to 
demand,  and  the  first  to  obtain,  her  blessings  by  dying  for  her. 
This  treasure  is  of  the  greatest  value  when  it  is  obtained  for 
the  largest  number.  The  great  Redeemer  came  for  this  pur- 
pose, and  found  the  majority  of  mankind  placed,  like  an  inert 
base,  at  the  lowest  stratum  of  society,  where  it  was  compelled 
to  bear  the  most  cruel  weight.  It  was  there,  in  the  lowest 
depth,  and  under  the  greatest  burden,  that  he  chose  to  be  born, 
bleed,  and  conquer.  In  thus  doing,  a  religion  arose  from  that 
abysm  of  abasement  which  declares  man  to  be  the  child  of 
God,  the  brother  of  Christ,  equal  in  the  order  of  nature  and 
in  that  of  grace  to  his  oppressors ;  and  this  contradiction 
between  sanctimonious  professions  and  social  facts,  with  per- 
petual and  omnipotent  force,  thank  God  !  shall  lead  to  the 
redress  of  social  injustice. 

The  rock  in  which  the  cross  of  Christ  was  planted  was  the 
corner-stone  of  the  first  true  republic,  and  eighteen  centuries 
have  been  placing  thereon  the  broad  foundations  of  freedom 
for  the  world.  The  bleeding  sacrifice  thence  ascending  for- 
ever proclaims  the  unity  of  our  race  and  equality  of  rights  ; 
the  boon  he  won  is  unlimited,  and  its  full  enjoyment  must 
speedily  come.  The  principle  of  the  equality  of  men  before 
God  necessarily  gives  birth  to  another,  which  is  but  its  devel- 
opment, or  rather  its  application,  namely,  the  equality  of  men 
among  themselves,  or  social  equality  ;  for  if  there  exists,  un- 
der this  relation,  an  inequality  essential  and  radical  relative  to 
privilege,  this  inequality  will  render  men  primarily  unequal 
before  God.  Religious  equality,  then,  tends  to  produce,  as  its 
consequence  and  consummation,  political  and  civil  equality  ; 
excluding  all  power  of  man  over  the  rights  of  his  brother  man, 
recognizing  his  freedom,  and  revering  his  native  independence. 

Christ  chose  the  cross  for  his  standard,  and  protested  against 
every  success  of  force  by  the  success  of  sacrifice.  The  gos- 
pel, regulating  the  rights  and  duties  of  all,  is  elevated  to  the 


418  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

power  of  a  universal  constitution,  which  serves  to  apportion 
to  all  legitimate  authority,  and  which,  by  a  beneficent  conser- 
vatism, preserves  from  those  excesses  to  which  human  ambi- 
tion is  perpetually  inclined.  Under  this  sovereignty  the  empire 
of  souls  was  established  in  conflict  with  Roman  tyranny, 
between  which  and  its  own  peaceful,  republican  spirit,  it  is 
impossible  to  imagine  an  antagonism  more  complete.  The 
Roman  empire  was  based  on  complete  servitude  ;  the  empire 
of  souls,  on  freedom  complete.  Between  the  two,  to  be  or 
not  to  be  was  the  grand  question,  which  led  at  once  to  a  con- 
flict both  inevitable  and  most  sanguinary.  An.d  what  muni- 
tions could  the  empire  of  souls  array  against  the  martial  em- 
pire covered  with  its  armed  legions  ?  The  forum  ?  It  had 
no  foothold  therein.  The  senate  ?  It  had  not  a  representative 
therein.  The  people  ?  They  were  chiefly  suborned  by  craft 
or  terrified  by  force.  Speech  ?  Its  only  eloquence  in  all  the 
terrors  of  primitive  struggles  was  silent  suffering,  self-sacrifice, 
and  rejoicing  death.  As  it  had  been  with  the  Master,  so  now 
was  it  with  his  disciples.  It  was  requisite  to  confess  Christ,  and 
then  to  die  for  his  name's  sake  ;  to  conquer  enforced  bondage 
by  the  peaceful  use  of  soul-freedom,  to  rise  by  falling  and 
conquer  by  apparent  defeat.  It  seems  that  to  them  it  had  been 
declared,  If  during  three  centuries  you  will  boldly  affirm,  I 
believe  in  God,  the  Father  almighty,  Maker  of  heaven  and 
earth,  and  in  his  only  Son  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who  was 
horn  of  the  virgin  Mary,  ivho  died  and  is  risen  !  —  if  during 
three  centuries  you  will  boldly  in  every  presence  declare  this, 
and  then  die  in  attestation  of  the  truth,  you  shall  be  masters 
and  most  free.  Such  was  the  result.  With  a  calm  brow  and 
undimmed  eye,  rejoicing  in  that  salvation  to  promote  which 
they  were  ready  to  perish,  they  willingly  embraced  the  most 
frightful  martyrdom,  believing  that  their  sacrifice  would  eman- 
cipate the  earth. 

Whenever  the  victim  of  political  or  spiritual  tyranny  cleaves 
to  the  cross  rather  than  be  recreant  to  truth  and  righteousness, 
like  Stephen,  he  has  but  to  raise  his  eyes  to  see  the  heavens 


CHRISTIANITY    THE    REWARDER    OF   THE    SACRIFICED.     419 

opened,  and  the  Son  of  man  silting  at  the  right  hand  of  God  ; 
and  their  reward  will  be  as  substantial  as  the  vision  is  glorious. 
Christianity  creates  true  republicans,  citizens  always  ready  to 
sacrifice  their  own  interests  for  the  general  well-being;  and 
when  she  shall  have  sufficiently  accomplished  this  work  in  the 
bosom  of  humanity,  peace  and  purity  will  become  universal, 
and  all  injustice  obsolete.  The  pioneers  and  founders  of  this 
blissful  era  are  all  who  are  the  victims  of  unrighteous  power. 
They  are  the  world-benefactors,  who  throw  out  truth,  fructi- 
fied by  tears  and  blood,  as  it  were,  at  hazard,  like  the  invisible 
seed  sown  by  the  winds  of  heaven ;  assured  that  germs  thus 
planted  will  grow  and  increase,  and  become  a  great  tree,  under 
the  shadow  of  whose  branches  mankind  will  ultimately  take 
refuge  against  all  errors  and  all  wrongs. 

Sacrifice  exacted  by  integrity  is  always  its  own  exalted 
reward,  since  he  whose  life  is  consecrated  to  suffering  for 
others  must  necessarily  be  a  participant  of  the  universal  feli- 
city which  the  Deity  diffuses,  infinitely  more  than  he  whose 
life  is  a  mere  pursuit  of  sensual  pleasure.  The  existence  and 
deeds  of  such  men  are  bright  revelations  of  omnipotent  benev- 
olence and  power.  This  is,  in  some  degree,  true  of  all  disci- 
ples, but  more  especially  does  it  apply  to  the  prophets,  the 
apostles,  the  martyrs,  who  have  bravely  consecrated  their  ener- 
gies to  the  service  of  their  race.  Truly  do  they  resemble  God 
manifest  in  the  flesh.  Their  example  in  time  is  the  brightest 
and  their  preparation  for  eternity  is  the  best ;  for  we  hold  that 
in  the  day  of  final  reckoning,  the  Judge  will  not  so  much  in- 
quire, What  was  your  belief?  as,  What  was  your  conduct  on 
earth  ?  What  hast  thou  done  ?  Where  are  the  proofs  that  thou 
hast  fulfilled  a  beneficent  mission  with  all  thy  might  ?  It  will 
then  be  seen  that  all  who  in  every  age  boldly  wore  a  martyr's 
crown  of  thorns,  in  order  that  truth  and  righteousness  might 
acquire  comprehensive,  pervading,  and  ennobling  sway,  there- 
by won  the  brightest  honors  and  were  destined  to  the  highest 
thrones. 

The  countries  blessed  with   the   footsteps   of   such   moral 


420  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

heroes  have  their  deeds  associated  with  the  noblest  scenery, 
exertions  not  merely  of  chivalric  prowess  or  military  talent, 
but  of  true  patriotism,  resistance  to  tyranny,  strife  the  most 
hazardous  for  peace  and  freedom  the  most  divine.  They  are 
champions  who  appear  at  fitting  intervals,  as  if  Providence 
especially  designed,  by  the  mercifulness  and  durability  of  their 
influence,  to  remind  the  world  of  what  is  most  characteristic 
of  his  own  eternal  throne.  They  are  the  foreshadowing  of 
infinite  harvests,  leave  earth  much  better  than  they  found  it, 
and  ascend  with  scarred  brows  wreathed  in  immortal  garlands, 
to  participate  more  fully  of  that  infinite  excellence  which  they 
exemplified  here  below.  Following  and  surpassing  the  great- 
ness of  antiquity,  Grecian  philosophers  and  Hebrew  prophets, 
the  moral  heroes  of  later  times,  armed  with  the  pen,  the  living 
voice  and  omnipotent  press,  have  sowed  most  profusely  the 
seeds  of  intellectual  profit  and  power  in  the  world,  scattering 
them  on  every  hill,  plain,  and  shore.  They  all  contribute  to 
build  up  that  power  in  the  earnest  devotee,  which,  in  the  unity 
and  utility  of  its  results,  corresponds  with  the  magnitude  and 
variety  of  the  costly  materials  which  have  contributed  toward 
its  erection,  and  which  in  turn  render  him  competent  to  do 
much  toward  advancing  the  world  in  grace,  mercy,  and  peace. 
Such  men  are  the  architects  of  the  noblest  institutions,  and  the 
almoners  of  the  richest  blessings.  They  fearlessly  confront 
the  darkest  terrors,  brave  the  most  despotic  wills,  and  in  life, 
as  well  as  in  death,  are  ready,  if  need  be,  to  glorify  God  and 
humanity  in  the  dungeon,  on  the  battle-field,  or  the  scaffold. 
Between  recreancy  to  principle  and  the  sacrifice  of  life,  it 
takes  them  not  a  second  to  choose.  So  long  as  one  warm 
pulsation  of  heart  remains,  they  breathe  through  all  ranks  of 
mankind  a  spirit  of  life  and  aspiration,  teaching  them  to  rebel 
against  every  wrong,  and,  if  necessary,  in  their  sublime  ca- 
reer, like  themselves  to  fall,  chanting  the  Marseillaise  of  the 
world's  march  toward  the  final  victories  of  freedom,  civiliza- 
tion, and  humanity.  When  such  redeemers  are  silenced  under 
the  axe  of  tyranny,  they  fall  like  stately  sacrifices.     If  con- 


CHRISTIANITY   THE    REWARDER    OF    THE    SACRIFICED.     421 

demned  to  the  lingering  immolation  of  the  prison,  their  hero- 
ical  faculties,  lofty  principles,  and  indomitable  purpose,  assert 
most  clearly  and  widely,  in  the  presence  of  despotism  and  of 
death,  the  true  "  Monarchy  of  Man." 

Intellect  and  affection  alone  confer  dominion  to  the  strong 
over  the  weak  —  not  indeed  further  to  enfeeble,  but  to  increase 
both  their  happiness  and  strength.  It  is  a  sovereignty  that  does 
not  cripple,  stultify,  and  degrade  its  victim,  but  enlightens, 
enfranchises,  and  exalts  him,  by  gently  inducing  him  to  open 
wider  the  doors  of  his  soul,  and  let  the  ethereal  tides  of  thought 
and  feeling  roll  therein.  Christ  came  to  bestow  infinite  mer- 
cies on  all ;  to  nourish  the  thought  of  the  obscurest  soul,  beau- 
tify it,  and  make  it  most  attractive, — 

"  As  the  dissolving  warmth  of  morn  may  fold 
A  half  infrozen  dew-globe,  green,  and  gold, 

And  crystalline,  till  it  becomes  a  winged  mist, 
And  wanders  up  the  vault  of  the  blue  day, 
Outlives  the  noon,  and  on  the  sun's  last  ray 

Hangs  o'er  the  sea,  a  fleece  of  lire  and  amethyst." 

When  flame  is  smothered  in  flax,  or  when  lightning  wears  a 
chain,  such  minds  may  with  impunity  be  bound,  or  be  dis- 
suaded from  the  discharge  of  duty  through  fear.  Landor  has 
said  that  "  there  is  a  pause  near  death  when  men  grow  bold 
toward  all  things  else."  With  habitual  solemnity  and  invincible 
fortitude,  the  true-hearted  disciple  of  Christ  will  encounter 
every  difficulty,  and  quail  before  no  foe.  If  an  emergency 
occurs  in  which  the  devotee  must  empty  his  veins  rather  than 
disgrace  his  Master's  cause,  then  will  he,  with  calm  firmness, 
say,  as  did  the  gladiators  to  imperial  tyrants  of  old,  "  They 
who  are  about  to  die  salute  thee  ! "  and  those  last  words  of 
virtuous  heroism  shall  seal  the  damnation  of  accursed  oppres- 
sors, burning  through  their  miscreant  souls  in  retributive  flames 
inextinguishable,  and  eternally  increased,  while  the  victim  of 
their  hellish  hate,  soaring  to  the  highest  firmament  of  bliss, 
shall  shine  as  the  stars  forever  and  ever, 
36 


422  REPUBLICAN    CHRISTIANITY. 

Thus  have  we  attempted  to  show  that  Christianity  has  ever 
been  the  fairest  and  foremost  victim  of  tyranny,  the  mightiest 
antagonist  to  every  form  of  injustice,  and  most  glorious  re- 
warder  of  all  devotees  for  her  sake  sacrificed.  In  all  the  fore- 
going work,  it  has  been  our  purpose  to  portray  the  character 
and  influence  of  those  persons  who  reproduce,  from  time  to 
time,  and  exemplify,  that  idea  of  immortal  worth  which  first 
sprang  from  the  tomb  in  the  Arimathean's  garden,  in  the  defi- 
niteness  of  doctrine  and  tangibility  of  fact,  to  reanimate  and 
adorn  the  whole  moral  world.  Some  of  its  first  fruits  we  have 
seen  and  felt ;  much  more  of  its  ultimate  glory  was  indicated 
in  that  glorious  vision  which  appeared  to  the  primitive  martyr 
of  Christ  on  the  right  hand  of  the  Majesty  on  high,  encour- 
aging him,  in  the  midst  of  the  agonies  of  a  violent  death  by 
the  hands  of  an  enraged  multitude,  to  say,  "  Lord  Jesus,  into 
thy  hands  I  commend  my  spirit;"  and  not  only  thus  to  resign 
his  soul,  but  at  the  same  time  to  pray  for  his  murderers.  The 
same  spirit  was  again  displayed  in  the  apostle  Paul,  when, 
after  a  most  useful  life,  he  calmly  faced  the  terrors  of  martyr- 
dom. And  here,  as  the  pen  inscribes  the  author's  prayer 
on  this  page,  it  shall  be  that  the  reader,  with  the  same 
holy  retrospect  and  anticipation,  may  exclaim,  "  I  have  fought 
a  good  fight,  I  have  finished  my  course,  I  have  kept  the  faith ; 
henceforth  there  is  laid  up  for  me  a  crown  of  righteous- 
ness, which  the  Lord,  the  righteous  Judge,  shall  give  me  at 
that  day ;  and  not  to  me  only,  but  unto  all  them  also  that  love 
his  appearing." 


PROVERBS    FOR    THE    PEOPLE 

OR,  ILLUSTRATIONS  OF  PRACTICAL  GODLINESS 
DRAWN   FROM   THE   BOOK   OF   WISDOM. 

BY    E.    L.    MAGOON. 


NOTICES   OF  THE  PRESS. 

This  is  a  volume  of  readable  sermons,  from  a  sort  of  steam  engine  preacher,  who 
hails,  we  believe,  from  Cincinnati.  He  is  one  of  those  earnest  orthodox  men,  who, 
unwilling  to  starve  on  their  creed,  go  to  preaching  practical  goodness  with  all  their 
might.  His  words  are  not,  like  most  preachers,  immensely  too  large  for  his  meaning. 
Indeed,  his  meaning  fills  them,  and  is  a  little  out  at  the  elbows.  Every  sentence  is 
alive. —  Chronotijpe. 

This  is  a  new  work  from  the  vigorous  and  terse  pen  of  the  author  of  "  Orators  of 
the  American  Revolution."  Mr.  M.  is  already  well  known  to  the  public,  both  as  an 
eloquent  preacher  and  a  nervous  and  forcible  writer.  One  of  the  best  recommenda- 
tions of  his  works,  is  the  deep  earnestness  and  fervor  which  always  pervade  them. 
Whatever  other  sins  may  be  laid  to  his  charge,  he  is  at  least  free  from  the  most  intol- 
erable and  incorrigible  one — dulness.  He  write3  always  like  a  thoroughly  alive  man. 
We  may  add  that  Messrs.  Gould,  Kendall  $•  Lincoln,  of  this  city,  are  the  publishers 
of  the  work,  and  that  its  mechanical  execution  is  like  that  of  every  other  volume 
that  comes  from  this  house — in  the  best  possible  taste. —  YanJcce  Blade. 

In  the  work  before  us,  the  principles  of  Christian  morality  are  handled  in  a  manner 
well  calculated  to  arrest  the  attention  and  improve  the  heart.  We  would  advise  the 
reader  to  purchase  the  book,  and  see  how  interesting  a  volume  may  bo  written  on  the 
fundamental  virtues  and  vices  of  mankind.  Like  all  the  publications  of  Messrs. 
Gould,  Kendall  &  Lincoln,  the  mechanical  execution  of  the  "  Proverbs  for  the  People  " 
is  faultless. —  Sat.  Rambler. 

This  work  consists  of  eighteen  chapters,  each  of  which  is  devoted  to  the  illustra- 
tion of  some  good  or  bad  trait  in  human  character.  It  is  an  excellent  book  for  young 
people,  and  especially  for  young  men,  amidst  the  temptations  of  business  and  pleasure. 
Albany  Express. 

This  work  turns  the  Book  of  Proverbs  to  excellent  account.  It  illustrates  the  great 
rules  and  principles  of  moral  obligation,  with  admirable  effect.  If  the  whole  world 
would  study  it  and  practice  upon  it,  there  would  not  long  be  occasion  to  pray  for  the 
millennium. — Albany  Argus. 

There  is  not  a  richer  mine  of  precious  thoughts  and  striking  aphorisms,  than  the 
Book  of  the  Proverbs  of  Solomon.  With  an  easy  and  attractive  style,  Mr.  Ma  goon 
possesses  an  extensive  acquaintance  with  ancient  and  modern  literature,  and  inter- 
weaves his  practical  reflections  with  varied  illustrations  and  quotations;  rendering 
his  work  as  entertaining  as  it  is  instructive.  It  is  a  book  for  the  people  ;  "  discussing 
the  exalted  principles  of  Christian  morality  in  a  manner  adapted  to  the  comprehension 
of  the  great  mass  of  mankind." — Ck.  Union, 

Our  author  is  one  of  the  most  earnest  and  wide-awake  of  our  American  preachers 
and  writers.  Each  of  the  eighteen  chapters  in  his  hook  is  furnished  with  a  quaint 
title,  and  filled  with  vigorous  expressions  of  his  own  ideas  and  feelings,  interspersed 
with  numerous  quotations  from  "  ethical  writers,  ancient  sages,  and  modem  poets." 
A  work  well  woithy  of  its  extensive  circulation. — Ezcelsior. 

They  are  Proverbs  for  the  People,  not  only  as  based  upon  the  Proverbs  of  Holy 
Scripture,  but  from  that  peculiarity  of  the  author's  style  which  is  seen  in  his  express- 
ing himself  so  that  you  may  pick  a  sentence  at  random  from  his  book,  and  you  will 
find  it  to  contain  a  complete  practical  idea,  which  might  serve  as  a  motto  to  think 
about,  or  hang  a  sermon  on.  He  is  quaint,  sententious, — he  has  indeed  the  three 
great  qualities,  "  pith,  point  and  pathos," — and  always  enforces  high  and  noble  senti- 
ments.— JV.  Y.  Recorder. 

It  is  a  popular  manual  of  great  practical  utility. —  Ch.  Chronicle,  Phila. 

The  subjects  are  so  selected  as  to  embrace  nearly  all  the  practical  duties  of  life. 
The  work,  in  consequence  of  this  peculiar  character,  will  be  found  extensively  useful. 
The  style  is  neat  and  compact. — Rochester  Democrat. 

The  work  abounds  with  original  and  pithy  matter  well  adapted  to  engage  the  atten- 
tion and  to  reform  the  life.  We  hope  these  discourses  will  be  extensively  read. — 
Morning  Star. 


NEW    PUBLICATIONS 


i. 

THE    EAETH    AND    MAN: 

Lectures  on  Comparative  Physical  Geography,  considered  in  its  Relation  to  the  History  of 

Mankind,     By  Arnold  Guvut,  Pro)'.  Phys.  Geo.  &.  Hist.,  Neuchatel. 

Translated  from  the  French,  by   Prof.  C.   C.  Feli  on.—  With  Illustrations. 

From  Prof.  Loiiis  Agassiz. 

"I  understand  that  you  are  about  publishing  the  lectures  of  Prof.  Gnyot  on  Pb)  pi- 
ca] Geography.  Having  been  his  ft  rend  from  childhood,  as  a  fellow  student  in  college, 
and  as  a~  colleague  in  the  same  university,  I  may  be  permitted  to  express  my  high 
sense  of  the  value  of  his  attainments.  Mr.  Guyot  has  not  only  been  at  1  lie  best 
school  that  of  the  Ritter  and  Humboldt,  and  become  familiar  with  the  presentstate  of 
the  science  of  our  earth,  but  he  has  himself,  in  many  instances,  drawn  new  conclu- 
sions from  the  facts  now  ascertained,  and  presented  most  of  them  is  a  new  point  of 
view.  Several  of  the  most  brilliant  generalizations  developed  in  bis  lectures,  are 
his  ;  and  if  moie  extensively  circulated,  will  not  only  render  the  study  of  geography 
more  attract. ve,  but  actually  show  it  in  its  true  light,  namely,  as  the  science  of  the 
relations  which  exist  bet  ween  nature  and  man,  throughout  history  ;  of  the  contrasts 
observed  between  the  different  paits  ol  the  globe  ;  of  the  laws  of  horizontal  and 
vettical  forms  of  the  dry  bind,  in  its  contact  with  the  sea-,  of  climate,  &c.  It  would 
be  highly  servieable.  it  seems  tome,  for  the  benefit  ot  schools  and  teachers,  that 
you  should  induce  Air.  Guyot  to  write  a  series  of  graduated  text-books  of  geography, 
from  the  first  elements,  up  Jo  a  scientific  treatise.  It  would  give  new  life  to  these 
studies,  in  this  country,  and  be  the  best  preparation  for  sound  statistical  investigations.1' 

II. 

WAYLAKD'S    UNIVERSITY    SERMONS. 

Sermons  delivered  in   Brown    University. 
By   FRANcrs  Wavlahd, 

Contents. — Theoretical  Atheism.  Practical  Atheism.  The  Moral  Character  of 
Man,  Love  to  God.  The  Fall  of  Alan.  Justification  by  Works  Impossible.  Prepar- 
ation for  the  Advent  of  The  Messiah.  The  Work  of  the  Messiah.  Justification  by 
Faith.  A  Day  in  the  Life  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth.  The  Fall  of  Peter.  The  Church 
of  Christ.  The  Unity  of  the  Church.  The  Duty  of  Obedience  to  the  Civil  Magis- 
trates.    The  recent  Revolutions  in  Europe. 

III. 
A   HISTORY    OF 

AMERICAN    BAPTIST    MISSIONS, 

In  all  parts  of  the  World,  from  their  earliest  commencement  to  the  present  time.    Prepared 

under  the  direction  of  the  American  Baptist  Missionary  Union. 

By    William    Gammell,   A.   M.,    Professor   in   Brown   University. 

IT. 

SACRED     RHETORIC: 

Or,    Composition  and  Delivery  of   Sermons  ;    including  Ware's  Hints  oh 

Extemporaneous     Pkeaching. 

Bt  Henry  J.  RrPLEY,  Prof,  in  Newton  Theological  Institution. 

V. 

THE    CHURCH    IN    EARNEST. 
By  John  Angell  James. 

We  rejoice  that  this  work  has  been  republished  in  this  country,  and  we  cannot  too 
strongly  commend  it  to  the  serious  perusal  of  the  churches  of  every  name. — Christian 
Alliance. 

Its  arguments  and  appeals  are  well  adapted  to  rouse  to  action,  and  the  times  call  for 
such  a  book,  which  we  trust  will  be  universally  read. — JVcio  York  Observer. 


CATALOGUE 

OF     VALUABLE     WORKS     PUBLISHED     BY 

GOULD,   KENDALL  AND   LINCOLN, 

««.    59,    WASHINGTON    STREET, 

BOSTON. 


PRINCIPLES  OF  ZOOLOGY;  Touching  the  Structure,  Develop- 
ment, Distribution,  and  Natural  Arrangement  of  the  Races  of  Animals, 
living  and  extinct,  with  numerous  illustrations.  For  the  use  of  Schools 
and  Colleges.  Fart  I.,  Comparative  Physiology.  By  Louis  Agassiz 
and  Augustus  A.  Gould. 

Extracts  from  the  Preface. 

"  The  design  of  this  wo.-k  Is  to  furnish  an  epitome  of  the  leading  principles  of  the  science 
of  Zoology,  as  deduced  from  the  present  state  of  knowledge,  so  illustrated  as  to  be  intelligible 
to  the  beginning  student.  No  similar  treatise  now  exists  in  this  country,  and  indeed,  some 
of  the  topics  have  not  been  touched  upon  in  the  language,  unless  in  a  strictly  technical 
form,  and  in  scattered  articles." 

"  Being  designed  for  American  students,  the  illustrations  have  been  drawn,  as  far  as  pos- 
sible, from  American  objects.  *  *  *  Popular  names  have  been  employed  as  far  as  possible, 
and  to  the  scientific  names  an  English  termination  has  generally  been  given.  The  first  part 
is  devoted  to  Comparative  Physiology,  as  the  basis  of  Classification;  the  second,  to  System- 
atic Zoology,  in  which  the  principles  of  Classification  will  be  applied,  and  the  principal 
groups  of  animals  briefly  characterized." 

MODERN  FRENCH  LITERATURE;   By  L.  Raymond  De  Veri- 

cour,  formerly  lecturer  in  the  Royal  Athenaeum  of  Paris,  member  of  the 
Institute  of  France,  &c.  American  edition,  brought  bown  to  the  present 
day,  and  revised  with  notes  by  William  S.  Chase.     With  a  fine  portrait 

of  L.AMARTINE. 

*»*  This  Treatise  has  received  the  highest  praise  as  a  comprehensive  and  thorough  survey 
of  the  various  departments  of  Modern  French  Literature.  It  contains  biographical  and 
critical  notes  of  all  the  prominent  names  in  Philosophy,  Criticism,  History,  Romance, 
Poetry,  and  the  Drama;  and  presents  a  full  and  impartial  consideration  of  the  Political 
Tendencies  of  France,  as  they  may  be  traced  in  the  writings  of  authors  equally  conspicu- 
ous as  Scholars  and  as  Statesmen.  Mr.  Chase,  who  has  been  the  Parisian  correspondent  of 
several  leading  periodicals  of  this  country,  is  well  qualified,  from  a  prolonged  residence  in 
France,  his  familiarity  with  its  Literature,  and  by  a  personal  acquaintance  with  mauy  of 
these  authors,  to  introduce  the  work  of  De  Verieour  to  the  American  public. 

"  This  is  the  only  complete  treatise  of  the  kind  on  this  subject,  either  in  French  or  Eng- 
lish, and  has  received  the  highest  commendation.  Mr.  Chase  is  well  qualified  to  introduce 
the  work  to  the  public.  The"  book  cannot  fail  to  be  both  useful  and  popular."  —  New  York 
Evening  Post. 

"  Literature  and  Politics  are  more  eloselv  allied  than  many  are  aware  of.  It  is  particu- 
larly so  in  France  ;  and  the  work  announced  by  this  learned  French  writer  will,  doubtless, 
be  eagerly  sought  after."—  The  Symbol,  Boston. 

"  Mr.  Chase  is  entirely  competent  for  the  task  he  has  undertaken  in  the  present  instance. 
His  introduction  and  notes  have  doubtless  added  much  to  the  value  of  the  work, especially 
to  the  American  reader."—  Evening  Gazette,  Boston.. 


GOULD,    KENDALL.   ASD    LINCOLN'S  PUBLICATIONS. 


THE    APOSTOLICAL   AND     PRIMITIVE   CHURCH;    Popular  in 

its  government  and  simple  in  its  worship.  By  Lyman  Cullman.  With 
an  introductory  essay,  by  Dr.  Augustus  Neander,  of  Berlin.  Second 
Edition.     Price  $1.25. 

The  Publishers  have  been  favored  with  many  highly  commendatory  notices  of  this 
work,  from  individuals  and  public  journals.  The  first  edition  found  a  rapid  sale;  it  has 
been  republished  in  England,  and  received  with  much  favor;  it  is  universally  pronounced 
to  be  standard  authority  on  this  subject;  and  is  adopted  as  a  Text  Book  in  Theological 
Seminaries. 

From  the  Professors  in  And  over  Theological  Seminary. 
"  The  undersigned  are  pleased  to  hear  that  you  are  soon  to  publish  a  new  edition  of  the 
'Primitive  Church,'  by  Lvma.n  Coleman.  They  regard  this  volume  as  the  result  of 
extensive  and  original  research ;  as  embodying  very  important  materials  fur  reference, 
much  sound  thought  and  conclusive  argument.  In  their  estimation,  it  may  both  interest 
and  instruct  the  intelligent  layman,  may  be  profitably  used  as  a  Text  Book  for  Theologi- 
cal Students,  and  should  especially  form  a  part  of  the  libraries  of  clergymen.  The  intro- 
duction, by  Neam>er,  is  of  itself  sufficient  to  recommend  the  volume  to  the  literary 
public."      '  Leonard  Woods*  Bela  B.  Edwards, 

Ralph  Emerson,  Edward  A.  Park. 

From  Samuel  Miller,  D.D.,  Princeton  Theological  Seminary. 
"  Gentlemen,  — I  am  truly  gratified  to  find  that  the  Rev.  Mr.  Coleman's  work  on  the 
'Apostolical  and  Primitive  Church,' is  so  soon  to  reach  a  second  edition.  It  is,  in  my 
judgment,  executed  with  learning,  skill,  and  fidelity  ;  and  it  will  give  me  great  pleasure  to 
learn  that  it  is  in  the  hands  of  every  minister,  and  every  candidate  for  the  ministry  in  our 
land,  and  indeed  of  every  one  who  is  disposed,  and  wlxo  wishes  for  enlightened  and  safe 
guidance,  on  the  great  subject  of  which  it  treats." 

Yours,  respectfully,  Samuel  Miller: 

THE    CHURCH    MEMBER'S  MANUAL  Of  Ecclesiastical  Principles, 

Doctrines,  and  Discipline  ;  presenting  a  Systematic  View  of  the  Structure, 
Polity,  Doctrines,  and  Practices  of  Christian  Churches,  as  taught  in  the 
Scriptures;  by  Wm.  Crowell.  With  an  Introductory  Essay,  by  Henry 
J.  Ripley,  D.D.     Price  i>0  cents. 

The  Rev.  J.  Dowling,  D.D..  of  New  York,  u-rites  :  — "  I  have  perused,  with  great  satis- 
faction '  The  Church  Member's  Manual.'  I  have  long  felt  in  common  with  many  of  my 
ministering  brethren,  the  need  of  just  such  a  work  to  put  into  the  hands  of  the  members, 
and  especially  the  pastors  and  deacons  of  our  churches.  .  .  As  a  whole,  I  have  great 
pleasure  in  commending  the  work  to  the  attention  of  all  Baptists.  I  think  that  Bro.  Crowell 
has  performed  his  task  in  an  admirable  manner,  and  deserves  the  thanks  of  the  whole  Bap- 
tist community." 

We  cordially  concur  in  the  above  recommendation.  S.  II.  Cone,  Elisha  Tucker,  W.  W. 
Evarts,  David  Bellamy,  Henry   Davis,   A.  N.  Mason,  and  A.  Haynes. 

The  pastor  of  one  of  the  largest  and  most  influential  churches  in  New  England,  writes 
as  follows. 

"  The  work  is  admirably  adapted  to  the  wants  of  pastors  and  private  members.  If  I 
could  have  my  wish,  not  only  the  ministers,  but  the  deacons  and  senior  members  of  our 
churche?  would  own  and  read  the  book." 

Another  writes  —  "  I  have  read  this  work  with  great  pleasure.  For  a  long  time  such  a 
guide  has  been  needed,  and  much  detriment  to  the  church  would  have  been  avoided,  had 
it  made  its  appearance  sooner." 

"  This  very  complete  Manual  of  Church  Polity  is  all  that  could  be  desired  in  this  depart- 
ment. Every  important  point  within  a  wide  range,  is  brought  forward,  and  every  point 
touched  is  settled." —  Christian  Review. 

"  While  we  dissent  from  the  positions  laid  down  in  this  book,  yet  we  honor  the  author  for 
carrying  out  his  principles.  He  undertook  to  write  a  Baptist  book,  and  we  cheerfully 
bear  testimony  that  he  has  done  his  work  and  done  it  well.  We  bear  testimony  to  the 
depth  of  thought  and  conciseness  and  purity  of  style  which  do  credit  to  the  author." 

Christian  Witness  (Episcopal). 

THE    CHURCH    MEMBER'S    GUIDE,    By Rey.  J.  A.  James.  Edited 

by  Rev.  J.  O.  Choules.  New  Edition  ;  with  an  Introductory  Essay,  by 
Rev.  Hubbard  Winslow.     Price  38  cents. 

pastor  writes— "I  sincerely  wish  that  every  professor  of  reliarion  in  the  land  may 
ess   this   excellent   manual.     I  am   anxious   that  every  member' of  mv  church  should 
possess  it,  and  shall  be  trappy  to  promote  its  circulation  still  more  extensively." 

"The  spontaneous  effusion  of  our  heart,  on  layinc  the  book  down,  was,  —  may  every 
church-member  in  our  land  soon  possess  this  book",  and  be  blessed  with  all  the  happiness 
•which  conformity  to  its  evangelic  sentiments  and  directions  is  calculated  to  confer." 

Christian  Secretary. 


GOULD,   KENDALL  AND   LINCOLN'S  PUBLICATIONS. 

MEMOIR  OF  ANN  H.  JUDSON,  late  Missionary  to  Burmah.  By  Rev. 
James  D.  Knowles.     12mo.  Edition,  price  85  cents.     ISmo.,  price  58  cts. 

"  We  are  particularly  gratified  to  perceive  a  new  edition  of  the  Memoirs  of  Mrs.  Judson, 
She  was  an  honor  to  our  country  —  one  of  the  most  noble-spirited  of  her  sex.  It  cannot, 
therefore,  be  surprising,  that  so  many  editions,  and  so  many  thousand  copies  of  her  life  and 
adventures  have  been  sold.  The  name — the  long  career  of  suffering  —  the  self-sacrificing 
spirit  of  the  retired  country-girl,  have  spread  over  the  whole  world;  and  the  heroism  of  her 
apostleship  and  almost  martyrdom,  stands  out  a  living  and  heavenly  beacon-tire,  amid  the 
dark  midnight  of  ages,  and  human  history  and  exploits.  She  waR  the  first  woman  who 
resolved  to  become  a  missionary  to  heathen  countries." — American  Traveller. 

"  This  is  one  of  the  most  interesting  pieces  of  female  biography  which  has  ever  come  un- 
der our  notice.  No  quotation,  which  our  limits  allow,  would  do  justice  to  the  facts,  and  we 
must,  therefore,  refer  our  readers  to  the  volume  itself.  It  ought  to  he  immediately  added  to 
every  family  library."— London  Miscellany. 

MEMOIR  OF  GEORGE  DANA  BOARDMAN,  Late  Missionary  to 
Burmah,  containing  much  intelligence  relative  to  the  Burman  Mission. 
By  Rev.  Alonzo  King.  A  new  Edition.  With  an  Introductory  Essay, 
by  a  distinguished  Clergyman.  Embellished  with  a  Likeness;  a 
beautiful  Vignette,  representing  the  baptismal  scene  just  before  his 
death  ;  and  a  drawing  of  his  tomb,  taken  by  Rev.  H.  Malcom,  D.D. 
Trice  75  cents. 

"  One  of  the  brightest  luminaries  of  Burmah  is  extinguished,  —  dear  brother  Boardman 
is  gone  to  his  eternal  rest.  lie  fell  gloriously  at  the  head  of  his  troops  —  in  the  arms  of  vic- 
tory, —  thirty-eight  wild  Karens  having  been  brought  into  the  camp  of  king  Jesus  since  the 
beginning  of  the  year,  besides  the  thirty-two  that  were  brought  in  during  the  two  preceding 
years.  Disabled  by  wounds,  he  was  obliged,  through  the  whole  of  the  last  expedition,  to  be 
carried  on  a  litter  ;  but  his  presence  was  a  host,  and  the  Holy  Spirit  accompanied  his 
dying  whispers  with  almighty  influence."  Rev.  Dk.  Judsok, 

4i  No  one  can  read  the  Memoir  of  Boardman,  without  feeling  that  the  religion  of  Christ  is 
suited  to  purify  the  affections,  exalt  the  purposes,  and  give  energy  to  the  character.  Mr. 
Boardman  was  a  man  of  rare  excellence,  and  his  biographer,  by  a  just  exhibition  of  that 
excellence,  has  rendered  an  important  service,  not  only  to  the  cause  of  Christian  missions, 
but  to  the  interests  of  personal  godliness."  Bauo.n   Stow. 

MEMOIR  OF  MRS.  HENRIETTA  SHUCK,  The  First  American 
Female  Missionary  to  China.  By  Rev.  J.  B.  Jeter.  Fourth  thousand. 
Price  50   cents. 

"  We  have  seldom  taken  into  our  hands  a  more  beautiful  hook  than  this,  and  we  have 
no  small  pleasure  in  knowing  the  degree  of  perfection  attained  in  this  country  in  the  arts 
of  printing  and  book-binding,  as  seen  in  its  appearance.  The  style  of  the  author  is  sedate 
and  perspicuous,  such  as  we  might  expect  from  his  known  piety  and  learning,  his  attach- 
ment to  missions,  and  the  amiable  lady  whose  memory  he  embalms.  The  book  will  be  ex- 
tensively read  and  eminently  useful,  and  thus  the  ends  sought  by  the  author  will  be  hap- 
pily secured.  We  think  we  are  not  mistaken  in  this  opinion;  for  those  who  taste  the 
effect  of  early  education  upon  the  expansion  of  regenerated  convictions  of  duty  and  happi- 
ness, vho  are  charmed  with  youthful,  heroic  self-consecration  upon  the  altar  of  God,  for  the 
welfare  of  man,  and  who  are  interested  in  those  struggles  of  mind  which  lead  men  to  shut 
their  eyes  and  ears  to  the  importunate  pleadings  of  filial  affection  —those  who  are  interested 
in  China,  that  large  opening  field  for  the  glorious  conquests  of  divine  truth,  who  are  inter- 
ested in  the  government  and  habits,  social  and  business-like,  of  the  people  of  this  empire  — 
all  such  will  be  interested  in  this  Memoir.  To  them  and  to  the  friends  of  missions  generally, 
the  book  is  commended,  as  worthy  of  an  attentive  perusal." — The  Family  Visiter,  Boston. 

MEMOIR  OF  REV.  WILLIAM  G.  CROCKER,  Late  Missionary  in 
West  Africa,  among  the  Bassas,  Including  a  History  of  the  Mission.  By 
R.  B.  Medbeky.     Price  62|  cents. 

"  This  interesting  work  will  be  found  to  contain  much  valuable  information  in  relation  to 
the  present  state  and  prospects  of  Africa,  and  the  success  of  Missions  in  that  interesting 
f  ountry,  which  has  just  taken  a  stand  among  the  nations  of  the  earth,  and,  it  is  to  be  hoped, 
may  successfully  wield  its  new  powers  for  the  ultimate  good  of  the  whole  continent.  The 
present  work  is  commended  to  the  attention  of  every  lover  of  the  liberties  of  man. 

"  Our  acquaintance  with  the  excellent  brother,  who  is  the  subject  of  this  Memoir,  will  be 
long  and  fondly  cherished.  This  volume,  prepared  by  a  lady,  of  true  taste  and  talent,  and 
of  a  kindred  spirit,  while  it  is  but  a  just  tribute  to  his  worth,  will,  we  doubt  not,  furnish 
lessons  of  humble  and  practical  piety,  and  will  give  such  facts  relative  to  the  mission  to 
which  he  devoted  his  life,  as  to  render  it  worthy  a  distinguished  place  among  the  religious 
and  missionary  biography  which  has  so  much  enriched  the  family  of  God."—  Ch.  Watchman, 


GOULD,   KENDALL  AND   LINCOLN'S  PUBLICATIONS. 


THE  MISSIONARY  ENTERPRISE;  A  Collection  of  Discourses 
on  Christian  Missions,  by  American  Authors.  Edited  by  Baron 
Stow,  D.D.     Second  Thousand.    Price  85  cents. 

"  If  we  desired  to  put  into  the  hands  of  a  foreigner  a  fair  exhibition  of  the  capacity  and 
spirit  of  the  American  church,  we  would  give  him  this  volume.  You  have  here  thrown 
together  a  few  discourses,  preached  from  time  to  time,  by  different  individuals,  of  different 
denominations,  as  circumstances  have  demanded  them  ;  and  you  see  the  stature  and  feel 
the  pulse  of  the  American  Church  in  these  discourses  with  a  certainty  not  to  be  mistaken. 

"  You  see  the  high  talent  of  the  American  church.  We  venture  the  assertion,  that  no 
Cation  in  the  world  has  such  an  amount  of  forceful,  available  talent  in  its  pulpit.  The 
energy,  directness,  scope,  and  intellectual  spirit  of  the  American  church  is  wonderful.  In 
this  book,  the  discourses  by  Dr.  Beeeher,  Pres.  Wayland,  and  the  Rev.  Dr.  Stone  of  the 
Episcopal  church,  are  among  the  very  highest  exhibitions  of  logical  correctness,  and  burn- 
ing, popular  fervor.     This  volume  will  have  a  wide  circulation."—  The  JSew  Enylander. 

"  This  work  contains  fifteen  sermons  on  Missions,  by  Rev.  Drs.  Wayland,  Griffin,  Ander- 
son, Williams,  Beeeher,  Miller,  Fuller.  Beman,  Stone,  Mason,  and  by  Rev.  Messrs.  Kirk, 
Stow,  and  Ide.  It  is  a  rich  treasure,  which  ought  to  be  in  the  possession  of  every  American 
Christian."—  Carolina  Baptist. 

THE  GREAT  COMMISSION?  Or,  the  Christian  Church  constituted 
and  charged  to  convey  the  Gospel  to  the  "World.  A  Prize  Essay.  By 
John  Harms,  D.D.  With  an  Introductory  Essay,  by  W.  It.  Williams, 
D.D.     Fifth  Thousand.     Price  $1.00. 

"  His  plan  is  original  and  comprehensive.  In  filling  it  up  the  author  has  interwoven 
facts  with  rich  and  glowing  illustrations,  and  with  trains  of  thought  that  are  sometimes 
almost  resistless  in  their  appeals  to  the  conscience.  The  work  is  not  more  distinguished 
for  its  arguments  and  its  genius,  than  for  the  spirit  of  deep  and  fervent  piety  that  per- 
vades it."  —  The  Day  spring. 

"  This  work  comes  forth  in  circumstances  which  give  and  promise  extraordinary  interest 
and  value.    Its  general  circulation  will  do  much  good."— New  York  Evangelist. 

"  In  this  volume  we  have  a  work  of  great  excellence,  rich  in  thought  and  illustration  of  a 
subject  to  which  the  attention  of  thousands  has  been  called  by  the  word  and  providence  of 
God."  —  Philadelphia  Observer. 

"  The  merits  of  the  book  entitle  it  to  more  than  a  prize  of  money.  It  constitutes  a  most 
powerful   appeal  on  the  subject  of  Missions."  —  Xew  York  Bajitist  Advocate. 

"  Its  style  is  remarkably  chaste  and  elegant.  Its  sentiments  richly  and  fervently  evan- 
gelized, its  argumentation  conclusive.  Preachers  especially  should  "read  it ;  they  "will  re- 
new their  strength  over  its  noble  pages."  —  Zion's  Herald,  Boston. 

"  To  recommend  this  work  to  the  friends  of  missions  of  all  denominations  would  be  but 
faint  praise;  the  author  deserves  and  will  undoubtedly  receive  the  credit  of  having  applied 
a  new  lever  to  that  great  moral  machine  which,  by 'the  blessing  of  God,  is  destined  to 
evangelize  the  world."  —  Christian  Secretary,  Hartford. 

"We  hope  that  the  volume  will  be  attentively  and  prayerfully  read  by  the  whole 
church,  which  are  clothed  with  the  "  Great  Commission  "  to  evangelize  the  world,  and 
that  they  will  be  moved  to  an  immediate  discharge  of  its  high  and  momentous  obligations. 

2T.  E.  Puritan,  Boston. 

THE  KAREN  APOSTLE;  Or,  Memoir  of  Ko  Thah-Byu,  the  first 
Karen  convert,  with  notices  concerning  his  Nation.  With  maps  and 
plates.  By  the  Rev.  Francis  Mason,  Missionary.  American  Edition. 
Edited  by  Prof.  H.  J.  Ripley,  of  Newton  Theol.  Institution.  Fifth  Thou- 
sand.    Price  25  cents. 

*,*"  This  is  a  work' of  thrilling  interest,  containing  the  history  of  a  remarkable  man,  and 
giving,  also,  much  information  respecting  the  Karen  Mission,  heretofore  unknown  in  this 
country.  It  must  be  sought  for,  and  read  with  avidity  by  those  interested  in  this  most  in- 
teresting mission.  It  gives  an  account,  which  must  be  attractive,  from  its  novelty,  of  a 
people  that  have  been  but  little  known  and  visited  by  missionaries,  till  within  a  few  years. 
The  baptism  of  Ko  Thah-Byu,  in  1S28,  was  the  beginning  of  the  mission,  and  at  the  end  of 
these  twelve  years,  twelve  hundred  and  seventy  Karens  are  officially  reported  as  members 
of  the  churches,  in  good  standing.  The  mission  has  been  carried  on  pre-eminently  by  the 
Karens  themselves,  and  there  is  no  doubt,  from  much  touching  evidence  contained  in  this 
volume,  that  they  are  a  people  peculiarly  susceptible  to  religious  impressions.  The  account 
of  Mr.  Mason  must  be  interesting  to  every  one. 


GOULD,   KENDALL  AND   LINCOLN  S   PUBLICATIONS. 


QtJWrt    SwRs. 


THE    PSALMIST:    A  New    Collection   of  Hymns,  for  the  use  of  the 
Baptist  Churches.     By   Baron  Stow    and    S.  F.  Smith. 

Assisted  by  W.  R.  Williams,  Geo.  B.  lde,  R.  W.  Griswold,  S.  P.  Hill, 
J.  B.  Taylor,  J.  L.  Dagg,  W.  X.  Brantly,  R.  B.  C.  Howell,  Samuel  W. 
Lynd  and  John   M.  Beck. 

Bulpit  edition,  12  mo.,  sheep,  Price  1.25.  Pew  edition,  18mo.,  75  cts. 
Pocket  edition,  32mo.,  56,^  cts.  —  All  the  different  sizes  supplied  in 
extra  styles  of  binding  at   corresponding  prices. 

***  This  work  it  may  be  said,  has  become  iiik  book  of  the  Baptist  denomination,  having 
been  introduced  extensively  into  every  State  in  the  Union,  and  the  British  provinces.  As 
a  collection  of  hymns  it  stands  unrivalled. 

The  united  testimony  of  pastors  of  the  Baptist  churches  in  Boston  and  vicinity,  in  New 
York,  and  in  Philadelphia,  of  the  most  decided  and  flattering  character,  has  been  given  in 
favor  of  the  book.  Also,  by  the  Professors  in  Hamilton  Literary  and  Theological  Institution, 
and  the  Newton  Theological  Institution.  The  same,  also,  has  been  done  by  a  great  number 
of  clergymen,  churches,  Associations,  and  Conventions,  in  every  State  of  the  Union. 

The  following  notice,  from  the  Miami  Association,  of  Ohio,  is  but  a  specimen  of  a  host 
of  others,  received  by  the  publishers: 

"Your  Committee  recommend  to  the  attention  of  the  Churches,  the  new  work  called 
'  The  Psalmist,'  as  worthy  of  special  patronage.  1.  It  is  exceedingly  desirable  that  our 
whole  denomination  should  use  in  the  praises  of  the  sanctuary  the  same  psalms,  hymns,  and 
spiritual  songs.  To  secure  uniformity,  we  prefer  '  The  Psalmist,'  because  it  is  strictly,  and 
from  the  foundation,  designed  for  the  use  of  Baptist  churches,  —  is  not  surpassed  by  any 
Hymn  Book  in  the  world.  2.  It  has  been  prepared  with  the  greatest  care.  In  no  instance  has 
a  Hymn  Book  gone  through  so  thorough  a  revision.  3.  It  is  a  book  of  very  superior  merits. 
The  Committee  therefore  recommend  to  the  churches  the  adoption  of  this  work  as  well 
calculated  to  elevate  the  taste  and  the  devotion  of  the  denomination." 

THE  PSALMIST,  WITH  A  SUPPLEMENT,  by  Richard  Fuller, 
of  Baltimore,  and  J.  B.  Jeter,  of  Richmond.     (Prices  same  as  above.) 

*„*This  work  contains  nearly  thirteen  hundred  hymns,  original  and  selected,  by  172 
writers,  besides  pieces  credited  to  fifty-five  collections  of  hymns  or  other  works,  the  author- 
ship of  which  is  unknown.  Forty-five  are  anonymous,  being  traced  neither  to  authors  nor 
collections. 

The  Supplement,  occupying  the  place  of  the  Chants,  which  in  many  sections  of  the 
country  are  seldom  used,  was  undertaken  by  Rev.  Messrs.  Fuller  and  Jeter,  at  the  solicita- 
tion of  friends  at  the  South. 

"  The  Psalmist  contains  a  copious  supply  of  excellent  hymns  for  the  pulpit.  We  are 
acquainted  with  no  collection  of  hymns  combining,  fc  an  equal  degree,  poetic  merit,  evangeli- 
cal sentiment,  and  a  rich  variety  of  subjects,  with  a  happy  adaptation  to  pulpit  services. 
Old  songs,  like  old  friends,  are  more  valuable  than  new  ones.  A  number  of  the  hymns  best 
known,  most  valued,  and  most  frequently  sung  in  the  South,  are  not  found  in  the  Psalmist. 
Without  them,  no  hymn  book,  whatever  may  be  its  excellences,  is  likely  to  become  gener- 
ally or  permanently  popular  in  that  region."  —  1'rej'ace. 

COMPANION    FOR    THE    PSALMIST.    Containing  Original  Mu«ic. 
.    Arranged  for  hymns  in  '  The  Psalmist,'  of  peculiar  character  and  metre. 
By  N.  D.  Gould.    Price  12K  cents. 

***  This  work  is  designed,  and  the  music  has  been  written,  expressly  to  meet  the  wants 
of  those  who  use  '  The  Psalmist '  It  is  adapted  to  the  numerous  beautiful  hymns  of  peculiar 
metre,  which  are  embraced  in  that  collection,  a  few  of  which  are  to  be  found  in  other  hymn 
books,  and  to  none  of  which  have  any  tunes  been  hitherto  adapted.  They  are  simple,  and 
suitable  for  either  private,  social,  or  public  devotion. 

WINCHELL'S  WATTS.  An  arrangement  of  the  Psalms  and  Hymns 
of  Watts,  with  a  Supplement.     32mo.     Price  67  cents. 

WATTS  AND  RIPPON.  The  Psalms  and  Hymns  of  Dr.  Rippon,  with 
Dr.  Rippon's  Selections,  in  one  volume,  new  edition,  corrected  and 
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***  This  work  should  be  in  the  hands  of  every  student  of  the  Bible,  especially  every 
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"The  undersigned,  having  examined  Professor  Ripley's  Notes  on  the  Gospels,  can 
recommend  them  with  confidence  to  all  who  need  such  helps  in  the  study  of  the  sacred 
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work.  Most  cordially,  for  the  sake  of  truth  and  righteousness,  do  we  wish  for  these  Notes 
a  wide  circulation. 

Barox  Stow,  R.  II.  Neale,  R.  Tctrxbtll, 

Daniel  Sharp,         J.  W.  Parker,         N.  Colvek. 
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author's  style  :  secondly,  by  the  completeness"  and  systematic  arrangement  of  the  work,  in 
all  its  p-irts,  the  '  remarks  '  on  each  paragraph  being  carefully  separated  from  the  exposi- 
tion ;  thirdly,  by  the  correct  theology,  solid  instruction,  and  consistent  explanations  of 
difficult  passages.  The  work  cannot  fail  to  be  received  with  favor.  These  Notes  are  much 
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and  the  accuracy  and  value  of  which  have  been  depreciated  by  works  of  later  date,  contain- 
ing recent  discoveries,  facts,  and  opinions,  unknown  to  Cruden.  The  condensation  of 
the  quotations  of  Scripture,  arranged  under  their  most  obvious  heads,  while  it  diminishes 
the  bulk  of  the  work,  greatly  facilitates  the  finding  of  any  required  passage. 

"  Those  who  bave  been  acquainted  with  the  various  works  of  this  kind  now  in  use, 
well  know  that  Cruden's  Concordance  far  excels  all  others.  Yet  we  have  in  this  edition  of 
Cruden,  the  best  made  better.  That  is,  the  present  is  better  adapted  to  the  purposes  of  a 
Concordance,  by  the  erasure  of  superfluous  references,  the  omission  of  unnecessary  expla- 
nations, and  the  contraction  of  quotations,  &c.  ;  it  is  better  as  a  manual,  and  is  better 
adapted  by  its  price  to  the  means  of  many  who  need  and  ought  to  possess  such  a  work,' 
thau  the  former  larger  and  expensive  edition."  —  Boston  Recorder. 

"  The  new,  condensed,  and  cheap  work  prepared  from  the  voluminous  and  costly  one  of 
Cruden,  opportunely  fills  a  chasm  in  our  Biblical  literature.  The  work  has  been  examined 
critically  by  several  ministers,  and  others,  and  pronounced  complete  and  accurate." 

Bajitist  Record,  Phila. 

"  This  is  the  very  work  of  which  we  have  long  felt  the  need.  We  obtained  a  copy  of 
the  English  edition  some  months  since,  and  wished  some  one  would  publish  it;  and  we 
are  much  pleased  that  its  enterprising  publishers  can  now  furnish  the  student  of  the  Bible 
with  a  work  which  he  so  much  needs  at  so  cheap  a  rate."  —  Advent  Herald,  Boston. 

"  We  cannot  see  bat  it  is,  in  all  points,  as  valuable  a  book  of  reference,  for  ministers  and 
Bible  students,  as  the  larger  edition."  —  Christian  Rejicctor,  Boston. 

"  The  present  edition,  in  being  relieved  of  some  things  which  contributed  to  render  all 
former  ones  unnecessarily  cumbrous,  without  adding  to  the  substantial  value  of  the  work, 
becomes  an  exceedingly  cheap  book."  —  Albany  Argics. 


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"  As  a  treatise  on  the  grand  relation  of  the  Atonement,  it  is  a  book  which  may  be  em- 
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illustrious  arguments."  —Sew  York  Evangelist. 

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There  is  no  subject  in  theology,  no  department  in  practical  religion,  in  which  the  great  body 
of  Christian  professors  at  the  present  day,  we  may  add  ministers  of  the  Gospel,  more  need 
instruction  than  in  respect  to  the  agency  and  influences  of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  the  conver- 
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"Avery  excellent  work  upon  a  very  important  subject.  The  author  seems  to  have 
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ANTIOCH  ;  Or,  Increase  of  Moral  Power  in  the  Church  of  Christ.  By 
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author  is  favorably  known  to  the  religious  public,  as  an  original  thinker,  and  a  forcible 
writer.  His  style  is  lucid  and  vigorous.  The  Introduction,  by  Mr.  Stow,  adds  much  to 
the  value  and  attractions  of  the  volume."—  Christian  Reflector. 

"  By  some  this  book  will  be  condemned,  by  many  it  will  be  read  with  pleasure,  because  it 
analyzes  and  renders  tangible,  principles  that  have'  been  vaguely  conceived  in  many  minds, 
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book,  and  judge  for  themselves."  — Baptist  Record. 

"  It  is  the  work  of  an  original  thinker,  on  a  subject  of  great  practical  interest  to  the 
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sideration."—  Fhila.  Christian  Observer. 

"  This  is  a  philosophical  essay,  denoting  depth  of  thinking  and  great  originality.  ._  He 
does  not  doubt,  but  asserts,  and  carries  along  the  matter  with  his  argument  until  the  differ- 
ence of  opinion  with  which  the  reader  started  with  the  writer  is  forgotten  by  the  former, 
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Latin,  but  in  every  language  of  Europe.  Dr.  Payson,  of  Portland,  thus  warmly  recom- 
mended it : 

"If  you  have  not  seen  Thomas  a  Kempis,  I  beg  you  to  procure  it.  For  spirituality  and 
weanedness  from  the  world,  I  know  of  nothing  equal  to  it." 

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